18,396 pot plants, 11 arrests in Laytonville area multiagency raid

Local, state and federal law enforcement officers seized 18,396 marijuana plants and arrested 11 people while executing multiple search warrants in the Laytonville area this week, the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office reported.

They also uncovered multiple cases of suspected illegal water diversions, grading and waste disposal, said Sheriff’s Lt. Shannon Barney, and confiscated four firearms.

Erosion, pesticide contamination, poisoned wildlife, clear-cut forests and dried-up streams are among the problems officials often uncover in connection with illegal marijuana growing. Environmental degradation is one of the reasons a mix of government agencies participates in eradication operations.

In addition to sheriff’s officials, law enforcement officers from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, the California National Guard Counterdrug Task Force, the Bureau of Land Management, Cal Fire and the Mendocino Major Crimes Task Force participated in serving the warrants.

The diversion of water continues to be an acute problem. Although estimates on the amount of water a pot plant uses daily vary from less than six gallons per plant up to 15 gallons per plant, that’s an illegal diversion of between 16.5 million to 41.4 million gallons of water over the average 150-day growing cycle for outdoor plants.

According to a 2014 state Fish and Wildlife study, just the illegal marijuana plants confiscated in California by law enforcement in recent years - between 2 million and 4 million annually - use upward of 1.8 billion gallons - or about 600,000 water tanker trucks over the five-month growing season. The impact has been felt in streambed alterations, algae generated from fertilizer runoff and unpermitted grading.

Monday morning, the multiagency team seized 701 plants near Branscomb Road, where Laytonville residents Julie Bailey, 49, Eric Bailey, 42, and Cacidy Bailey, 20, as well as Dru Bailey, 41, of Colorado and Steven Colombo, 40, of Fort Bragg were arrested, according to the Sheriff’s Office. They all were booked on suspicion of marijuana cultivation and possession of marijuana for sale, officials said.

Eric and Dru Bailey additionally were charged with being prohibited persons in possession of firearms. The bail for each was set at $25,000. Fish and Wildlife is considering filing additional charges over water diversions, waste disposal and grading, Barney said.

Six more people were arrested in the Cahto Peak Road area Monday morning where law enforcement officers seized 1,477 cannabis plants and 400 pounds of processed marijuana, officials said. They included: Jonathan Marker, 33, of Colorado; Johnny Bassett, 34, of San Diego; Dakota Poalito, 25, of Ukiah; Sean Hogen, 36, of McKinleyville; and Marina Connel, 35, of North Carolina.

On Monday afternoon, the multiagency team seized 1,362 marijuana plants near Highway 101. No suspects were located in that case nor during another eradication effort that afternoon in the Cahto Peak area, where more than 6,880 plants were seized from two garden areas.

On Tuesday, officers seized 1,092 plants from another parcel near Highway 101 north of Laytonville and more than 6,000 plants in five garden sites in the Hunt Ranch area near Laytonville and the Red Mountain area near Leggett, sheriff’s officials said. No suspects were at the locations at the time, officials said.

Law enforcement officials arrested a Santa Rosa man and seized 882 marijuana plants at another Laytonville-area pot operation along Highway 101 on Tuesday.

James Butler O’Conner, 28, was booked in the county jail on suspicion of marijuana for sale, officials said. Wildlife officials also are considering charges over suspected illegal water diversion, illegal grading and waste issues.

Eradication operations are routine this time of year, triggered by observations of people growing more pot than allowed by permit.

Currently, the maximum amount of pot that can be grown with a special permit is 99 plants. Without the permit waiver, only 25 plants are allowed per parcel.

Laytonville has long been a hot spot of marijuana cultivation. Barney said, “This is an area where it has gotten a little out of control.”

You can reach Staff Writer Glenda Anderson at 707-462-6473 or glenda.anderson@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @MendoReporter