Pubdate: Tue, 23 Nov 1999 Source: San Jose Mercury News (CA) Copyright: 1999 San Jose Mercury News Contact: 750 Ridder Park Drive, San Jose, CA 95190 Fax: (408) 271-3792 Website: http://www.sjmercury.com/ U.S. INDICTS 6 SUSPECTS FROM SAN BENITO POT FARM The U.S. Attorney's Office has indicted six of 10 men arrested from Sept. 8 through Sept. 11 on suspicion of cultivating marijuana in a remote region in southern San Benito County, District Attorney Harry Damkar said Monday. Drug enforcement officers reported uprooting nearly 50,000 marijuana plants near San Benito Mountain. The bust was one of the largest in state history, they said. The suspects, all from the Madera area, are Miguel Angel Gutierrez, 23; Higinio Vasquez Montes, 27; Sergio Vasquez Montes, 25; Jose Ruelas Rodriguez, 49; Fernando Flores Hernandez, 30; and Jose Juan Garcia, 22. Four other men pleaded guilty to being accessories. They served 60 days in county jail and were turned over to immigration authorities, Damkar said. They are Alejandro Sandoval, 22; Jesus Mendoza, 27; Abelardo Alvarez, 23; and Antonio Lopez Mendoza, 18. Authorities were alerted by a hunter this summer of suspicious activity near Cantua Creek on federal Bureau of Land Management property near the Fresno County line. Surveillance showed that marijuana was being grown extensively in the area. The defendants initially were charged by San Benito County, but the charges were dismissed in deference to the federal indictment, Damkar said. - --- MAP posted-by: Derek Rea