The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department was busy with marijuana recently, raiding grow operations at three different locations in the North County over three days.
In the early morning hours of Oct. 4, sheriff’s personnel raided outdoor grows on Tepesquet Road near Colson Canyon and another off San Marcos Pass near Kinevan Road. The raids yielded more than 570 plants and 100 pounds of processed marijuana—with a combined street value of more than $6 million. According to Sheriff’s Department spokesman Drew Sugars, detectives described the plants as “unusually large” and “very carefully maintained.”
On the evening of Oct. 6, sheriff’s detectives raided a suspected indoor marijuana grow on Highway 1 between Highway 101 and Jalama Road. The raid resulted in the seizure of 200 to 600 pounds of cultivated marijuana—worth an estimated $600,000—and several loaded firearms.
According to Sugars, detectives surveyed the property near Lompoc before serving a search warrant, and attempted to stop three vehicles as they drove off the property. Two were halted, resulting in two arrests, but a third vehicle sped away, leading investigators on a short chase down Highway 1. When it ended, several suspects fled from the vehicle and one person was arrested.
Authorities searched into the night for more suspects believed to have fled from the grow and notified local residents to be on the lookout for any suspicious activity.
The bust was the result of a months-long investigation by Sheriff’s Department personnel. In connection with the operation, authorities arrested three men on various felony charges including marijuana cultivation, illegal possession of firearms, and criminal conspiracy. Bail was set at $100,000 each.
This article appears in Oct 14-21, 2010.