Illegal Marijuana Farm Damages California Archaeological Site
FRESNO (CBS SF) -- A 30-year-old Mexican national has been sentenced to three years in prison for running a large illegal marijuana operation that caused extensive damage to a large prehistoric Tűbatulabal archaeological site, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced Monday.
Rafael Torres-Armenta (Torres) had been found guilty of conspiring to manufacture, distribute and possess with intent to distribute marijuana.
He was also ordered to pay $5,233 in restitution to the U.S. Forest Service for the damage to public land and natural resources caused by the cultivation activities.
According to court documents, Torres conspired with Carlos Piedra-Murillo (Piedra), of Michoacán, Mexico, Juan Carlos Lopez, of Flagstaff, Arizona; and Javier Garcia-Castaneda (Garcia), 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 in a raid of the operation.
In June 2017, Piedra was sentenced to two years and one month in prison, Lopez was sentenced to five years in prison, and Garcia was sentenced to three years and one month in prison.
The marijuana cultivation operation 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.
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.