The following is a press released issued by the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office. The information has not been proven in a court of law and any individuals described should be presumed innocent until proven guilty:
On 06-02-2021, the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office Marijuana Enforcement Team began conducting an investigation into an unlawful marijuana/cannabis cultivation operation in the 9000 block of West Side Road in Potter Valley, California.
It should be noted, this was the same location where the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office served a search warrant in August 2020, for an unlawful marijuana/cannabis operation where several thousand marijuana/cannabis plants were illegally cultivated and ultimately eradicated.
During the course of the most recent investigation, law enforcement officials observed several plastic style hoop houses on the property that contained growing marijuana/cannabis.
The investigation revealed this property was not legally licensed/permitted to cultivate marijuana/cannabis to this scale.
Based on the aforementioned information, an affidavit in support of a search warrant was authored for the property. The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office Marijuana Enforcement Team with the assistance of the Mendocino Major Crimes Task Force served the search warrant on the property on 06-02-2021.
Upon service of the search warrant, four Hispanic males fled the property on foot and were not captured.
Three Hispanic females were located within a marijuana/cannabis “trimming room”. One of the females was later determined to be a sixteen year-old minor who was later released to Child Protective Services.
A total of 3,741 marijuana/cannabis plants were eradicated and destroyed. In addition to the marijuana/cannabis plants, a total of 115 pounds of hanging bud marijuana/cannabis was also located and destroyed.
A criminal investigative report was forwarded to the Mendocino County District Attorney’s Office for review of criminal charging and potential prosecution.
