FRESNO, Calif. — In a bold move against marijuana traffickers, the U.S. Attorney’s office announced that Noe Alvarez Ramirez, 28, of Michoacàn, Mexico, has been sentenced to two years and nine months in prison for his role in a large marijuana cultivation operation in Kern County.
According to court documents, U.S. Forest Service agents seized 7,302 marijuana plants from the site in the Gibboney Canyon area of the Sequoia National Forest in Kern County, as well as 5,000 marijuana plant stalks consistent with a prior harvest in 2012. During the execution of a federal search warrant at the site, agents found Alvarez sleeping in a tent.
Alvarez was also ordered to pay $2,675 in restitution to the U.S. Forest Service caused by the negative environmental impact of the cultivation. Trash and fertilizer bags were scattered about the area and the ground was terraced after native vegetation, including oak trees, was cut down to make room for the marijuana plants. Trash also was found in the waterway of Gibboney Creek.
Alvarez is subject to potential deportation to Mexico after he serves any prison sentence.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the Kern County Sheriff’s Office.
Noe Alvarez Ramirez, 28, of Michoacàn, Mexico, was sentenced on March 21, 2014, to two years and nine months in prison for conspiring to manufacture, distribute, and possess with intent to distribute marijuana grown in the Gibboney Canyon area of the Sequoia National Forest in Kern County.
Defendant’s Name: Noe Alvarez Ramirez
Criminal Charges: Conspiring to manufacture, distribute, and possess with intent to distribute marijuana
City and State: Fresno, California
Exact Date: March 21, 2014
Sentence or Outcome: 2 years and 9 months in prison
Dollar Amounts: $2,675 in restitution to the U.S. Forest Service
Related Federal Cases
- Alan Fernando Gomez-Paniagua, Marijuana Cultivation, California 2024 · Florida
- Sair Maldonado-Soto, Marijuana Cultivation Conspiracy, California 2024 · Michigan
- Rosario Beltran-Leal, Marijuana Cultivation Conspiracy, California 2018 · North Carolina
- David Wayne Holleman, Possessing with Intent to Distribute Marijuana, California 2012 · Iowa
- Chad Straub, Conspiring to Distribute Marijuana, California 2014 · Iowa
Key Facts
- State: California
- Category: Drug Trafficking
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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