Marijuana grower sentenced to 10 years for illegally using national forest, weapons charges
Over 6,500 plants were seized
A Mexican national was sentenced yesterday at U.S. District Court in Sacramento after being convicted of illegally growing 6,500 plants on land in Shasta-Trinity National Forests.
Agustin Cruz-Sanchez, 34, of Mexico, was sentenced Thursday to 10 years in prison and ordered to pay $10,000 in restitution to the United States for conspiracy to manufacture marijuana and depredation of public lands and resources. Cruz-Sanchez was arrested in August 2018 after law enforcement executed a search warrant on the illegal growing site.
Cruz-Sanchez was also convicted of illegally possessing a .40-caliber Smith & Wesson handgun with an obliterated serial number, pellet rifles, a loaded Smith & Wesson magazine, and a .40-caliber Smith & Wesson ammunition cartridge.
Evidence introduced at the trial showed that Cruz-Sanchez, along with co-conspirators, expected to illegally sell the marijuana, which authorities valued at $6.5 million. Also, environmental scientists found and documented extensive environmental damage, including the use and disposal of bottles of pesticides, fertilizers, and other chemicals. The hazardous wastes found at the grow site included carbofuran, a toxic pesticide that is banned in the United States.
On May 19, 2022, co-conspirator Fidel Sanchez-Cruz pleaded guilty to conspiracy to manufacture marijuana, manufacture of marijuana, and depredation of public lands and resources. Sanchez-Cruz is scheduled to be sentenced on March 23, 2023, by U.S. District Judge Troy L. Nunley.
This case is the product of an investigation by the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, the California Highway Patrol, the California Department of Justice – North State Marijuana Investigation Team, the Trinity County Sheriff’s Office, the Tehama County Sheriff’s Office, the Corning Police Department, and the Red Bluff Police Department.
