SACRAMENTO, Calif. — U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced a 20-month prison sentence for Sebastian Martinez Arreola in a landmark case of marijuana cultivation on federal land. The young Mexican national, aged 20 from Michoacán, was found guilty of manufacturing and conspiring to manufacture marijuana, as well as depredation of federal property.
The sentence, handed down by U.S. District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller, comes after Arreola’s arrest in the Limedyke Mountain area of the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, where law enforcement discovered approximately 2,500 marijuana plants and a firearm during an August 7, 2017 raid.
Investigation into this case was a collaborative effort between the United States Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, Trinity County Sheriff’s Office, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the North State Marijuana Investigation Team. Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Bender led the prosecution.
In a separate incident on the Mendocino National Forest in Tehama County, Pedro Sanchez Muniz, 39, from Mexico, was also sentenced by Judge Mueller to two years in prison for conspiracy to manufacture at least 1,000 marijuana plants and depredation of federal property. Sanchez Muniz was apprehended tending to about 1,500 plants.
This case resulted from a joint investigation by the U.S. Forest Service, ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), California Department of Fish & Wildlife, and Tehama County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney James Conolly prosecuted the charges against Sanchez Muniz.
Both cases underscore the detrimental impact illegal marijuana cultivation has on federal lands, including environmental degradation and threats to public safety.
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Key Facts
- State: California
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Fraud & Financial Crimes|Violent Crime|Sex Crimes|Cybercrime|Public Corruption|Weapons|Human Trafficking|White Collar Crime|Organized Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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