Fresno man calls Paso Robles cannabis business owner the N-word in dispute. See video
An angry customer called a Paso Robles cannabis business owner the N-word over the weekend for refusing a sale that would violate city ordinances, in an altercation that was caught on video.
The incident also spurred competing criminal accusations, with the customer, who owns a mold mitigation business in Fresno, accusing the cannabis owner of battery and the cannabis owner saying the customer threatened him.
The incident, which occurred outside Dubs Green Garden at 1124 Black Oak Drive, went viral after owner Ernest Hall posted a video of the argument with Luke Fisher, owner of Fresno Mold Busters, on Sunday.
Dubs Green Garden is the only cannabis business currently operating in the city, and according to city ordinances, the business can only deliver medical-grade cannabis. Paso Robles doesn’t allow recreational delivery or any retail storefront activity, although these ordinances are currently being revisited.
Ernest Hall’s wife Grace Hall told The Tribune on Tuesday that Fisher became irate on Sunday when Ernest told him repeatedly that he couldn’t sell at his shop due to the city’s restrictions.
“And then the guy, he’s probably about maybe 5-foot-3 — he’s a short, stocky little guy,” Grace Hall said, “he pushed right up to Ernest’s face and was like, ‘Come on, come on,’ and then that’s when my kids started videotaping.”
Luke Fisher’s wife, Gabi, however, disputed that account, telling The Tribune that it was Ernest Hall who came out of the building aggressively.
The video shows Fisher arguing with Hall, while members of Hall’s family can be heard in the background. In the background is Fisher’s truck, with Gabi Fisher in the driver’s seat.
The video begins with Fisher calling Hall a “dumbass” multiple times.
“Dumbass, come at me with everything you got,” he says.
“I’m leaving, fool. I don’t give a f---, you dumbass,” Hall replies. “I’m leaving, fool. F--- you. Go. Bye. Bye.”
Fisher then backs away, waving at Hall and calling him the N-word.
“He called you a n-----,” a family member says.
“I don’t care what he called me,” Hall replies. “This motherf----- ain’t getting shit from me.”
Fisher then walks back to his truck and says “You’re a f---ing dumb n-----,” before getting into the passenger seat.
“I’ll be a dumb n-----,” Hall says. “Bye. Bye. Bye.”
The video then zooms on the license plate as the truck drives away.
The Halls’ video immediately began circulating widely online. Within three days, the video had more than 150,000 views, 800 likes and more than 540 comments.
On Monday, Luke Fisher filed a report with Paso Robles police, “claiming to have been hit in the head by the bill of Mr. Hall’s hat during a heated confrontation,” Cmdr. Steve Boyett told The Tribune.
Fisher requested formal charges with the DA’s Office for simple battery, Boyett said.
In response, the Halls accused Fisher of making a hand gesture that mimicked the cocking of a gun, Grace Hall said.
They also requested formal charges, saying they “perceived the gesture to be a threat,” according to police.
“Other than the statements of both parties, we have zero evidence of either claim,” Boyett said.
Fresno business owner’s wife responds
Fisher’s wife Gabi, who witnessed the confrontation from the truck that day, told The Tribune that she refutes the Halls’ claims that her husband started the fight.
She said that she and her husband, being from out of town, were in search for a dispensary and weren’t aware of Paso Robles’ policies around cannabis.
Landing at Dubs Green Garden, she said, her husband was looking for the door when Ernest came out and immediately became aggressive and headbutted her husband.
“Luke was under attack. He did not want to resort to violence, but he said what he said,” Gabi said. “Luke stood his ground. He saw a random person, who did not identify himself, come out of a business. ... He just saw a crazy person coming straight at him, and he was going to stand his ground.”
But Gabi said her husband did regret the language he used to do it.
“He is very regretful of those things. That’s certainly not anything that represents who we are or what we’re about or the way that we conduct ourselves in our lives,” she said. “We aren’t apologizing because we are getting blowback. He genuinely feels bad that those words came out of his mouth.”
Since Sunday, Gabi said the Halls had left multiple threatening voicemails on their phone and created online “campaigns” against the Fishers’ business, so they decided to press charges against Ernest for simple battery.
“We’re sorry we hurt his feelings. We would love to work it out, but based on the advice of the Paso Robles Police Department, we’ve had to block their numbers because of their continued threats of violence to us.”
Eventually, the Fishers’ intend to get a restraining order against the Halls, Gabi said.
Halls say they’re worried about their safety
In the aftermath, both Ernest and Grace Hall also said they are worried about their family’s safety. Grace said she saw Fisher mimic a shotgun as he drove out of their parking lot that day.
“We were concerned for our safety when they left,” she said. “People don’t understand what’s going on within our family. It’s horrible.”
The Halls are in the midst of a current legal battle after a complaint was filed by the District Attorney’s Office on May 15 accusing Dubs Green Garden of delivering illegal recreational marijuana in Paso Robles, even though the business has a state license and a city permit that says “rec.”
The first hearing in that case was on Monday, the day after the altercation outside their business.
The incident was the latest of multiple that have drawn the Halls into the public eye in recent years.
They were also at the center of the Chris Bausch-Ty Lewis controversy after sharing information with the then city manager about what Lewis said was a conspiracy to drive him out of his job.
“I just feel like there’s no representation for people like me in this town, and if you try to do something good, they try to find a way to snatch it from you, or not make it easy,” Ernest Hall told The Tribune. “They don’t make it easy for Black folks or people like myself.
“I can’t even express it, like how hard I fought to get to where I’m at, but then nobody sees all the hard work,” he added. “It doesn’t make any sense ... I’m just kind of scared for my safety. I don’t know what I’m going to do.”
