Dozens of local, state and federal agents on Wednesday continued a sweep through Mendocino County's Round Valley, uprooting thousands of marijuana plants and seizing tens of thousands of dollars.
Officers used stun guns to subdue two suspects Wednesday, a day after authorities arrested 17 people in Round Valley in a series of raids launched after a three-month investigation into marijuana growing operations in and around Covelo, Sheriff's Capt. Kurt Smallcomb said.
Seized in the raids were 3,480 pot plants, 122 pounds of processed marijuana, six firearms and about $32,000 in cash from private properties, Smallcomb said.
He said drug agents used the stun guns when the suspects refused to comply with orders. The suspects' names weren't disclosed.
About 50 agents from local, state and federal agencies served warrants in the Chicken Ridge neighborhood east of Covelo, officials and neighbors said.
"We were fully aware that there were people who were trying to push the envelope," Sheriff Tom Allman said of marijuana cultivation. "We expect several more search warrants to be served."
Aerial patrols spotted the bright green areas characteristic of marijuana plants early in the season, prompting the investigations.
"Especially in the more rural areas, we're getting overrun," Smallcomb said. "It's the new gold rush, except instead of the gold rush it's the green rush."
At two locations on Zenia Road in north Covelo on Tuesday, agents destroyed 223 pot plants and seized 105 pounds of processed marijuana, two rifles, a handgun and $31,000 in cash, Smallcomb said.
They arrested seven people at the two sites on suspicion of marijuana cultivation and sales: Eugene Ray, 58; Jaime Castro, 33; Jeremiah Ray, 25; Solomon Moreno, 27; Wayne Maruffo, 27; and Julia Maruffo, 22, all of Round Valley, and Pablo Soto, 32, a transient.
Closer to town on Tabor Lane, agents destroyed 152 pot plants, seized about 10 pounds of processed marijuana, a rifle, two handguns and arrested four people on suspicion of marijuana cultivation and sales: Toni Duncan, 52; Ernesto Medel, 50; and Manuel Castillo, 28, all of Round Valley, and Ruben Perez, 28, a transient.
On Henderson Road, officers found 70 pot plants and seized five pounds of processed pot and $1,156, Smallcomb said. Three people were arrested: Richard Kisling, 51, and William Defrenne, 61, both of Boonville, and Terry Jones, 60, of Santa Barbara.
Also on Tuesday, three more people described as transients from San Gabriel were arrested in the area on suspicion of marijuana cultivation and sales: Danny Trinish, 49, Tran Moc, 26, and Tuan Moc, 38.
Allman was in Washington on Tuesday asking U.S. Forest Service and other federal officials for more financial assistance to fight illegal marijuana cultivation in the Mendocino National Forest, which spans Mendocino, Trinity, Tehama, Glenn, Colusa and Lake counties.
"I told the Board of Supervisors that next year we're going to have a very large enforcement action on public land grows in Mendocino County. So that's what I'm back here for," Allman said of his trip to the capital. "There's a lot of interest in helping us."
You can reach Staff Writer Julie Johnson at 521-5220 or julie.johnson@pressdemocrat.com
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