Modesto man faces pot, gun charges

MODESTO -- A federal grand jury indicted a Modesto man Thursday on suspicion of illegally possessing three firearms, including a semiautomatic rifle, to protect an illegal marijuana garden, according to the U.S. attorney's office.

Rogelio Rosales-Torres, 21, was charged with being an illegal immigrant in possession of firearms and cultivating marijuana. Federal prosecutors said Rosales-Torres had a Norinco SKS semiautomatic rifle with two detachable high-capacity ammunition magazines loaded with 78 bullets. Authorities seized 12 marijuana plants 3 to 6 feet tall, along with harvested marijuana.