Lester Eduardo Cardenas Flores, Marijuana Cultivation, California 2021

FRESNO, Calif. — Lester Eduardo Cardenas Flores, 24, of Michoacán, Mexico, pleaded guilty today to conspiring to manufacture, distribute, and possess with intent to distribute marijuana, Acting U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

He also agreed to pay $48,057 in restitution to the U.S. Forest Service for the damage that the cultivation operation had on public land.

A massive marijuana cultivation operation was discovered in the Dutch Oven Creek area of the Sierra National Forest. Agents found 2,307 marijuana plants at the site, as well as lethal banned pesticides that appeared to have been applied to the plants.

The cultivation operation caused extensive environmental damage, which serves as the habitat for the Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frog, an endangered species and the California spotted owl. Dutch Oven Creek is part of the Chiquito Creek watershed, which drains into the Fresno River before flowing into the San Joaquin River.

Cardenas and his co-defendant, Luis Madrigal Reyes, 37, also of Michoacán, Mexico, were apprehended at the grow site during the execution of a search warrant. Madrigal previously entered a guilty plea and is scheduled for sentencing on Sept. 20, 2021.

Cardenas is scheduled for sentencing on Nov. 15, 2021. He faces a mandatory minimum statutory penalty of 10 years and a maximum penalty of life in prison, as well as a $10 million fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.

This case is the product of an investigation by the U.S. Forest Service, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Campaign Against Marijuana Planting (CAMP) of the California Department of Justice, and the Madera County Sheriff’s Office. The Integral Ecology Research Center, a non-profit organization dedicated to the research and conservation of wildlife and their ecosystems, assisted. Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen A. Escobar is prosecuting the case.

MORE FEDERAL CRIME NEWS

Drug Trafficking

David Crummy, Cocaine Trafficking, North Carolina 2013

Jul 14, 2015

Drug Trafficking

Jeffrey Sean Nazari, Acetyl Fentanyl Trafficking, Maryland 2015

Apr 20, 2015

Drug Trafficking

Demonte Jovon Walker, Methamphetamine Distribution, West Virginia 2024

Apr 6, 2026

Drug Trafficking

Lindsey Joe Brown, Methamphetamine Trafficking, New Mexico 2012

Jan 26, 2015