136 marijuana plants seized from Oakdale warehouse

A report of a water leak at a warehouse unit in the 1800 block of Ackley Circle in Oakdale on Wednesday led to the discovery of a marijuana growing operation, authorities said. An Oakdale man was arrested and booked on felony cultivation of marijuana.

At about 8 p.m., police Officer Blake Ebbert and his K9 partner, Cruze, responded to the call and arrived to find water running out into the parking lot from under the closed roll-up door of unit 11.

Staff at an adjacent unit occupied by Crossfit Oakdale told Ebbert that water was coming under the common wall on the south side of their unit and they smelled a strong odor of marijuana coming from unit 11.

Two men in a pickup arrived at unit 11 and told Ebbert the toilet was broken and they were there to fix it, according to a news release from Oakdale police. Ebbert asked if he could enter the warehouse to assess the leak, but the renter, Vincent Patrick Rivera of Oakdale, declined and asked if Ebbert had a warrant. Rivera and the other man, Alexander Xavier Willform of Modesto, then left in the pickup.

Ebbert said he heard the sound of fans running inside the warehouse and smelled marijuana. He got Cruze, whose sniffing confirmed the odor of narcotics.

Rivera returned shortly and stayed about half an hour while officers had the unit under surveillance. When he drove away again, he was stopped and detained. Rivera and Willform returned to unit 11 with police after Rivera signed a search-warrant waiver.

Rivera presented a doctor’s recommendation for medical marijuana allowing him 75 plants for personal use. The warehouse contained 136 young marijuana plants, each about 18 inches tall, grow lights, a watering system, cooling fans and an exhaust system. Oakdale police estimate the street value of the plants at $5,000.

Rivera, 34, was arrested and the marijuana was confiscated. He also is being investigated for several building code violations due to the nonpermitted work inside the warehouse. He is out of jail on bail, police reported Friday.

This story was originally published June 5, 2015 at 9:04 AM with the headline "136 marijuana plants seized from Oakdale warehouse."