Marijuana
Credit: NIDA
Prehistoric Tübatulabal Native American Archaeological Site in the Domeland Wilderness Area in Tulare County
June 26, 2017 - FRESNO, Calif. — Chief U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill sentenced two men today for conspiring to manufacture, distribute and possess with intent to distribute marijuana in connection with a large-scale cultivation operation that impacted a prehistoric site, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
Juan Carlos Lopez, 32, of Flagstaff, Arizona was sentenced to five years in prison, and Javier Garcia-Castaneda (Garcia), 38, of Michoacán, Mexico, was sentenced to three years and one month in prison. Lopez was ordered to pay $5,930 in restitution, and Garcia was ordered to pay $5,233 in restitution to the U.S. Forest Service for the damage to public land and natural resources caused by their cultivation activities.
The sentences were imposed following their guilty pleas in April. According to court documents, the men conspired with each other and Rafael Torres-Armenta (Torres), 30; and Carlos Piedra-Murillo (Piedra), 30, both of Michoacán, Mexico, to cultivate marijuana in the Domeland Wilderness. The Domeland Wilderness is a federally designated wilderness area about 55 miles northeast of Bakersfield and is known for its many granite domes and unique geologic formations. Law enforcement officers seized over 8,000 marijuana plants, 17 pounds of processed marijuana, a .22‑caliber rifle, a pellet rifle, and hundreds of rounds of .22‑caliber ammunition.
Piedra previously pleaded guilty to the conspiracy and was sentenced earlier this month to serve two years and one month in prison. Torres previously pleaded guilty and will be sentenced on July 10, 2017.
The marijuana cultivation operation caused extensive environmental damage. It covered about 10 acres and was within the burned area of the 2000 Manter Fire. Some of the new vegetation and trees that sprouted after the fire had been cut and trimmed to make room for the marijuana plants. Water was diverted from a tributary stream of Trout Creek, a major tributary to the Kern River. Fertilizer and pesticides, including illegal carbofuran and zinc phosphide, highly toxic pesticides from Mexico, were found at the site. Large piles of trash were found near the campsite. The moving of soil to accommodate a basin around each marijuana plant caused extensive damage to a large prehistoric Tűbatulabal archaeological site. Holes were dug in the middle of the archaeological site and artifacts were found scattered on the surface among the marijuana plants.
This case is the product of an investigation by the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Assistant United States Attorney Karen Escobar prosecuted the case.
Source: DOJ
