Major Stanislaus sheriff’s bust takes $100 million in illegal marijuana off streets
The Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department has completed a weeklong, countywide marijuana cultivation bust that resulted in the arrest or citation of 83 people, shutdown of more than 60 illegal grows and seizure of product worth nearly $100 million.
The joint-agency marijuana eradication effort ran Monday, May 31, to Friday, June 4, and “spanned all corners of the county,” according to Stanislaus Sgts. Luke Schwartz and Erich Layton. Led largely by the department’s Community Resource Unit, the enforcement was the result of a months-long investigation into illegal indoor and outdoor cannabis grows in the county.
Schwartz and Layton said illegal marijuana grows are one of the chief complaints the Sheriff’s Department receives from the community, and the bust is the result of various tips and other investigations.
According to the sheriff’s release, the campaign targeted 64 grow locations and resulted in the eradication of 74,088 marijuana plants and 1,687 pounds of fully processed plants. Officials also seized 46 firearms and $172,347 in cash. The estimated street value of the illegal cannabis was nearly $100 million.
Authorities said 83 people were arrested, booked or issued citations for various violations. In addition, 26 of the locations had their power shut off by local utility companies, 16 code enforcement referrals were made, and 13 warrants resulted in Child or Adult Protective Services referrals for what the press release called “unsafe living conditions wherein guardians were arrested for endangering their kids.”
Those arrested ranged in age from 18 to 67 and came from cities across the county, including Modesto, Turlock, Ceres, Riverbank, Patterson, Newman, Grayson and Keyes. Out-of-county residents also were netted in the bust, including residents of Palm Springs, Stockton, Daly City, Redwood City and Atwater.
Officials said the illicit grows were found in all types of neighborhoods representing a range of income levels and spanning urban and rural neighborhoods. While authorized and regulated marijuana cultivation was legalized when voters approved Proposition 64 in November 2016, illegal cultivation remains a problem as growers seek to avoid state regulations and taxes.
“We’ve got so many black-market marijuana grows in our county,” Layton said.
Law enforcement continues to target black-market cultivation in an effort to stem crime and other related issues these unregulated grows can cause. The press release noted that locations of these operations can become targets of “violent, takeover-style home invasions” with armed assailants, which can result in shootings, robberies, aggravated assaults, kidnappings and burglaries.
Authorities noted illicit grows can also have environmental impacts, including exposure to toxic pesticides, gaseous fumes and unabated fungal molds. Illegal grows frequently steal utilities from neighbors and others nearby, and also can result in human trafficking for less expensive workers, according to the Sheriff’s Department.
The department’s eradication efforts were assisted by the Northern and Southern California teams from the Bureau of Cannabis Control and their Cannabis Enforcement Units, as well as Stanislaus County Public Works, Stanislaus Animal Services, the Turlock and Modesto irrigation districts, Riverbank, Patterson and Stanislaus county code enforcement, PG&E, the California Department of Fish & Wildlife, the sheriff office’s Special Investigations, Air Support and SWAT units, Fusion Center Crime Analyst/Statistical tracking team, Stanislaus Regional 911 communications center, and Waterford, Patterson, Hughson and Riverbank police services.
Animal Services was called for neglected dogs, cats, cattle, horses and a bull that were discovered during the busts. Authorities also arrested an out-of-compliance registered sex offender in the airport neighborhood Tuesday afternoon, who was taken into custody.
After evidence and sample collection, the seized marijuana was incinerated. The Sheriff’s Department has concluded its preliminary investigation and the cases have been referred to the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office for review and prosecution.
“We truly appreciate the assistance from all allied agencies who came together in order to make this operation a tremendous success. The community can rest assured we are dedicated to strongly regulating and enforcing all black-market, cannabis-related laws,” said Stanislaus Sheriff Jeff Dirkse in a press statement.
Bee staff writer Kevin Valine contributed to this report.
This story was originally published June 5, 2021 at 11:22 AM.
