Marijuana seized on Pomo tribal land near Willits

The County of Mendocino Marijuana Eradication Team and Bureau of Indian Affairs on Tuesday seized 2,421 marijuana plants from some 30 gardens being cultivated on the Sherwood Valley Rancheria of Pomo Indians near Willits.

Officers also seized 611 pounds of drying bud marijuana, 95 pounds of processed marijuana, less than a half gram of cocaine and eight firearms, said Mendocino County Sheriff's Sgt. Bruce Smith. The plants ranged in height from 1 to 6 feet, he said.

The gardens had been the subject of complaints by tribal leaders and other rancheria residents, Smith said. He said it appears some tribal members had been growing marijuana and leasing plots to nonmembers on a 160-acre section of the rancheria for the purpose of cultivation.

“The tribal council was upset about it,” Smith said.

Six people were arrested on a variety of weapons, drug and resisting arrest charges in connection with the gardens. They included Dennis Hoaglin, 59, Gary Robinson, 65, Robin Phillips, 59, Rudolph Esquivel, 55, Gregorio Martinez-Guzman, 40, and Patrick Welsh, 40.