FRESNO — Federal prosecutors say a Mexican citizen has been sentenced to over two years in prison in connection with a large-scale marijuana operation that damaged a Native American site in California.
A judge in Fresno on Monday also ordered 30-year-old Carlos Piedra-Murillo to pay over $5,000 to the U.S. Forest Service to help with repairs.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office says Piedra cultivated marijuana in the Domeland Wilderness area in Sequoia National Forest between May and August 2016.
Authorities uncovered over 8,000 marijuana plants. The U.S. Attorney’s Office says the operation caused extensive damage to a large Native American archaeological site.
Three other men have pleaded guilty in connection with the marijuana operation and are scheduled for sentencing later in June.
— Associated Press
SAN DIEGO COUNTY— A Spring Valley marijuana dispensary was robbed late Tuesday, shortly before closing time.
No one was injured, and the robbers escaped before sheriff’s deputies got to the shop on Troy Street near Sweetwater Road.
Websites that list the locations and product prices for dispensaries around the region show the name of the shop as High Society, with hours of operation from 8 a.m. to midnight.
The robbery was reported about 11:15 p.m., a sheriff’s official said.
[related_articles location=”left” show_article_date=”false” article_type=”automatic-primary-section” curated_ids=””]San Diego News Video reported that five or six masked men, all armed with guns, stole a security guard’s pistol as they held up the shop employees. Deputies found several packaged products from the dispensary in the parking lot.The dispensary shares a portable bungalow-type building with an office for Cruise America RV rentals and sales.
— San Diego Union-Tribune
APPLE VALLEY — A small fire behind a residence believed to have been caused by a power line malfunctioning led authorities to uncover a large marijuana grow inside a home Thursday.
San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Apple Valley Station deputies responded to a home in the 11000 block of Saratoga Road at 9:20 a.m. to assist firefighters who had received reports of a fire at the residence, authorities said.
The firefighters discovered the fire was likely caused by a main power line malfunctioning and melting, eventually falling into some shrubbery in the backyard and sparking a fire. Due to the circumstances, fire officials determined there was a significant concern that the remaining electrical lines inside the home may also fail and ignite a blaze in the home.
According to authorities, upon entering the home to ensure no one was inside and that there was no damage to any property, the firefighters discovered an indoor marijuana grow with several hundred plants.
Sheriff’s Marijuana Enforcement Team personnel served a search warrant at the home and found a large-scale grow inside the house — with more than 750 plants in various growth stages — and the use of advanced lighting, fans, exhaust blowers and an air-filtering system to control both the climate and the odor, authorities said.
— (Victorville) Daily Press
WILKES-BARRE, Pa. — A Pennsylvania man has been arrested after posting photos of drugs, guns and cash on his Facebook page.
The Monroe County District Attorney’s Office says 26-year-old Jhoan Molina is facing a felony count of drug possession with intent to deliver and several misdemeanor charges.
Officials say Molina drew the attention of a detective in the district attorney’s office after he posted photos with a handgun, marijuana and large sums of money.
Molina was arrested Thursday after a SWAT team served a search warrant at his Tobyhanna Township home. Officers discovered a loaded AR15 rifle, a loaded 9 mm handgun, marijuana, packing materials and $480.
Molina is held in the Monroe County jail and is unavailable for comment. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 15.
— Associated Press
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The Michigan Supreme Court says the rights of two jail officers were violated during pre-dawn visits to their homes.
Todd VanDoorne and Michael Frederick were charged with having marijuana butter, although a Grand Rapids-area drug team didn’t have a search warrant in 2014.
In a unanimous ruling Thursday, the Supreme Court says police were trespassing with their early morning visits, which turned into searches. The court is sending the case back to a Kent County judge to determine whether the searches still can stand under the circumstances.
VanDoorne and Frederick said they felt compelled to cooperate because they’re officers, too. They had medical marijuana cards at the time, but prosecutors said they still violated the law.
— Associated Press
SAN DIEGO — Police said they have closed down an illegal marijuana dispensary and arrested two men after a month-long investigation of the North Park business.
Officers seized about three-quarters of a pound of pot, 280 edibles and concentrated cannabis, 2 grams of cocaine and 15 Ecstasy pills in the raid. Police served a search warrant on the Green Orchard Dispensary on Park Boulevard near Lincoln Avenue around 11:30 a.m. last Wednesday, said San Diego police Lt. Matt Novak.
Police said the “one-stop shop” would provide customers a marijuana recommendation and route them to another office in the building where they could pay for marijuana or marijuana-laced edibles and concentrates. Customers were then directed out the front door to a person sitting in a vehicle to provide the purchased products.
Novak said investigators believe operators of the “hybrid” dispensary were trying to make it more difficult for police to locate the business by keeping the marijuana in a vehicle.
One employee was arrested on suspicion of sales of marijuana, felony possession for sale of a controlled substance and operating an illegal dispensary. The second worker was issued a citation for sales of marijuana and operating an illegal dispensary.
— San Diego Union-Tribune
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