Jaime Alejandro Sanchez Robles, Marijuana Cultivation, California 2022

Marijuana Cultivation Ring Busted in Shasta-Trinity National Forest

A federal grand jury returned a three-count indictment today against Jaime Alejandro Sanchez Robles, 33, of Mexico, charging him with conspiracy to manufacture marijuana, manufacture of marijuana, and depredation of public lands and resources, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

Sanchez Robles is accused of operating a large-scale marijuana growing operation in a remote area of the Shasta-Trinity National Forest located in Trinity County. On October 20, 2022, law enforcement officers went to the marijuana grow and observed that water was actively being diverted from a nearby stream.

Agents found the remnants of over 1,200 pounds of soluble fertilizer, 20 gallons of liquid fertilizer, over 50 pounds of rodenticide, and at least one dead animal at the grow. Law enforcement officers eradicated 1,708 marijuana plants and arrested Sanchez Robles.

This case is the product of an investigation by the U.S. Forest Service, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the Trinity County Sheriff’s Office. Integral Ecology Research Center, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the research and conservation of wildlife and their ecosystems, analyzed and documented the environmental damage.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Alstyn Bennett is prosecuting the case. If convicted, Sanchez Robles faces a maximum statutory penalty of life in prison and a $10 million fine. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

The Shasta-Trinity National Forest is a protected area that spans over 2.1 million acres in northern California. The forest provides habitat for a variety of wildlife, including the threatened northwestern spotted owl and the endangered coho salmon.

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