Lake County drug bust nets cash, weapons, six suspects at Kelseyville property

The Lake County Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force this week seized 138 marijuana plants, 9 pounds of processed pot, 6 pounds of methamphetamine valued at over $270,000, several firearms and $162,000 during a warrant search of a Kelseyville-area property along Highway 29, sheriff’s officials said.

The residence, formerly Red Lava Wine Tasting, is in the same area where law enforcement had seized 3,300 marijuana plants in July, officials said.

Six men were arrested during the search: Prudencio Gerardo Najar-Elias, 26, of Santa Rosa; Diego Garcia, 26, of Ukiah; Richard Joseph Gamble, 41, of Staten Island; Arnoldo Mendoza-Tellez, 25, of Clearlake; Jamie Sanchez Ruiz, 18, of Los Angeles; and Javier Guiterrez Torres, 39, of Kelseyville.

Five of them were among six people who fled the residence when narcotics detectives arrived, sheriff’s officials said. The sixth man arrived at the location during the serving of the warrant. One of the five men caught fleeing the scene was armed with a .38 caliber revolver he attempted to discard during the chase, sheriff’s officials said. Detectives also found a loaded SKS pistol grip rifle and an unassembled M-4 rifle. Of the cash seized, $22,000 was in the pockets of two suspects, sheriff’s officials said. Another $60,000 was found in a vehicle at the scene and $80,000 was at the residence. The marijuana was being grown both indoors and outside, officials said.