Second man found dead in pot garden was from Santa Rosa

A second man found dead in an illegal marijuana garden over the Fourth of July weekend was also a Santa Rosa resident, authorities confirmed Tuesday.

Jose Gumercindo Avila Zuniga, 29, was identified through DNA evidence, Napa County sheriff's officials said.

Zuniga and and Wilfredo Ronaldo Rivas-Velazquez, 43, were found dead on July 1 in the rugged hills west of Rutherford near the Napa-Sonoma county line, Capt. Tracey Stuart said.

They were in a 3,000-plant marijuana garden planted on private land. Landowners were apparently unaware of the garden and a Boonville man was subsequently arrested on suspicion of running the marijuana operation.

Carlos Guerrero, 45, was the "grow boss," according to Stuart. A search of his Boonville home turned up firearms, methamphetamines and evidence linking him to the garden near Rutherford, she said.

Guerrero hasn't been charged in connection with the killings.

Authorities Tuesday were still searching for Carlos Perez, a 21-year-old man with sores on his face and arms who walks with a limp and remains a key suspect in the case.

He is 5-foot-9 and weighs between 175 and 190 pounds, Napa County Sheriff's Det. Chris Carlisle said.

"He's the only person we're looking for right now," Stuart said.

Rivas-Velazquez left his Apple Valley home on June 17 for work it the pot garden and called home on June 21 to say he'd return in three days, Fraga said.

When he didn't arrive, his family filed a missing person's report and told officers he had gone to work in the garden with several other men, he said.

Detectives alerted Napa authorities about the marijuana garden, and agents hiked into the area July 1 and discovered the bodies and grow area near the Sonoma County line east of Sugarloaf Ridge.

Rivas-Velazquez was in the El Salvador military before moving to the United States, Fraga said. He was identified through dental records.

He leaves behind a wife, two daughters, ages 22 and 19, and a 12-year-old son. He had lived in Santa Rosa for several years, Fraga said.

Few details were available about Zuniga, and Stuart declined to say how he became involved in the marijuana operation. His his death certificate identified him as a United States citizen, she said.