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July 17, 2024 - SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Custodio Ibarra Nunez, 42, of Merced, was sentenced on Tuesday to 10 years in prison and ordered to pay $17,930.30 in restitution to the United States, for conspiracy to cultivate marijuana, marijuana cultivation, and depredation of public lands in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, U.S. Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court documents, between May 23 and July 8, 2019, Nunez was a manager in a conspiracy to cultivate over 4,000 marijuana plants south of Rays Peak on public lands in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest with three other co-conspirators: Francisco Madrigal Magana, Mario Alberto Lopez Pena, and an uncharged 17-year-old minor. USFS agents arrested Magana and Lopez at the site.  Magana and Pena were later convicted and sentenced to 18 months and 24 months in prison, respectively, for conspiracy to manufacture marijuana and depredation of public lands and resources.

Nunez was not present at the illegal cultivation site during the law enforcement raid.  Subsequent investigation led to his identification, and revealed that he continued to engage in illegal marijuana cultivation with the uncharged minor in Merced.  A search of his residence resulted in the discovery of additional marijuana plants, marijuana cultivation tools and supplies, vacuum sealing devices, and packaging material, including evidence of USPS tracking receipts for shipments across the county.  Nunez was indicted and arrested in February 2020, and has remained in custody since. 

This case was the product of an investigation by the U.S. Forest Service, the Trinity County Sheriff’s Office, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Bureau of Land Management, the Trinity County District Attorney’s Office the Merced Area Gang and Narcotics Team, Merced County Sheriff’s Office, the Atwater Police Department, and the Redding Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Adrian T. Kinsella prosecuted the case.
Source: DOJ Release