Pubdate: Thu, 19 Jun 2008
Source: Press Democrat, The (Santa Rosa, CA)
Copyright: 2008 The Press Democrat
Contact: http://www.pressdemocrat.com/services/feedback.html
Website: http://www.pressdemo.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/348
Author: Glenda Anderson, The Press Democrat
Note: MAP archives articles exactly as published, except that our 
editors may redact the names and addresses of accused persons who 
have not been convicted of a crime, if those named are not otherwise 
public figures or officials.
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Marijuana - Medicinal)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?115 (Marijuana - California)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/raids.htm (Drug Raids)

MENDOCINO POT CRACKDOWN

5 Homes Used for Growing Marijuana Raided After Neighbors Complain

Neighbors' complaints are fueling a crackdown on commercial marijuana 
cultivation in Mendocino County, where authorities have raided five 
houses in the past two days.

"People are getting fed up," said Sheriff's Lt. Rusty Noe.

On Wednesday, officers searched two Willits-area houses dedicated to 
marijuana production, seizing 150 harvest-ready plants, 200 starter 
plants and sophisticated growing equipment.

A couple walking their dogs past one of the homes Wednesday morning 
smiled and quipped: "Going out of business sale?"

A day earlier officers seized 505 plants, $175,000, a boat, two 
all-terrain vehicles and a Chevrolet truck at separate Redwood Valley 
homes occupied by [redacted].

[redacted] was arrested on suspicion of cultivating and possessing 
marijuana for sale, and his son also faces prosecution on 
drug-related charges, Noe said. They could not be reached for comment 
Wednesday.

An additional 660 plants were found at a home east of Willits on Tuesday.

Noe said Mendocino County residents have become increasingly angry 
over the cultivation of pot for profit by people claiming it is for 
compassionate medicinal marijuana use.

The stench of pot, armed drug dealers, barking dogs, noisy 
generators, and soil and water contamination from fertilizers and 
herbicides are among the complaints.

Willits City Councilwoman Karen Oslund said residents have been 
emboldened to step forward by Measure B, an initiative on the June 
ballot aimed at limiting the amount of medical marijuana individuals can grow.

"Maybe people realize: 'I'm not the only one who feels this way,' " she said.

Pro Measure B votes were leading on election night but mailed ballots 
still were being counted Wednesday.

Measure B supporters blame liberal pot regulations for attracting 
outsiders to the county to grow marijuana for profit under the 
pretext of supplying it for compassionate medical use.

Wednesday's crackdown began at 8 a.m. with 20 law enforcement 
officers from the Sheriff's Office, county Marijuana Eradication 
Team, and Mendocino Major Crimes Task Force simultaneously 
approaching the two Willits-area houses.

On Fox Road in Brooktrails, a forested subdivision just north of 
Willits, they knocked and loudly announced themselves before forcing 
open the door of a three-story structure.

"Nice house," Noe commented.

Inside, they found 49 mature plants in a brilliantly lighted room 
saturated with the overwhelming skunklike stench of budding 
marijuana. An elaborate ventilation system of fans and ducts kept the 
room from overheating while an automatic irrigation system attached 
to two 80-gallon tanks watered the plants.

South of Willits on Walker Road, authorities found 100 or so budding 
plants, 200 starter plants and several "mother plants" that typically 
are clipped to create new clones.

A new room was under construction in a warehouse-like building on the 
property, which commands views of a pond and oak-studded hills near 
Highway 101.

Indoor growing equipment was scattered around the property.

With marijuana selling at $2,500 or more a pound, the mature plants 
found in the Brooktrails house -- 2-foot-tall budding clones -- would 
be worth about $375,000. Indoor operations yield three crops a year, Noe said.

[redacted] bought the Brooktrails home in 2005 for about $394,000 and 
the Walker Road property for about $275,000 in 2002, according to 
county records.

[redacted] could not be reached for comment Wednesday. A call to his 
home was answered by his adult son, [redacted], who said his father 
was not home and then declined further comment.

Sonoma County authorities served a search warrant on his Petaluma 
home Wednesday, Noe said. He said the case likely would be sent to 
the district attorney for prosecution rather than executing an 
immediate arrest.

Indoor marijuana operations proliferated after California voters 
legalized the use of medicinal marijuana in 1996, Noe said. 
Statistics on indoor marijuana gardens were unavailable.

Mendocino County's reputation for having liberal medical marijuana 
rules further attracted people from outside the county, and sometimes 
from outside the country, he said.

Buying houses gives operators a place to grow pot and a way to 
launder their profits, Noe said.

Multiple medical marijuana prescriptions -- most listing Sonoma 
County residents -- were posted inside the houses searched Wednesday 
but Noe was unconvinced, based partly on the size of the operation.

"We're looking at a commercial grow," he said. 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake