Police: 3 arrested after illegal pot farms found in state parks in Sonoma and Napa counties

State parks officials arrested three Santa Rosa men and discovered multiple illegal pot farms this summer in Robert Louis Stevenson and Sugarloaf Ridge state parks in Napa and Sonoma counties, the agency announced Friday.

The first man, Jose Arturo Doval Martinez, 25, was arrested June 24 at Robert Louis Stevenson State Park after rangers received a tip about a marijuana grow in a remote, rugged area on the property, said Jeremy Stinson, assistant chief of law enforcement for the State Parks system.

Rangers joined by California Department of Fish and Wildlife personnel raided the grow and found more than 2,870 marijuana plants spread across two locations, Stinson said. Doval Martinez was found nearby and was taken into custody without incident.

Officers also located a shot gun, three rifles and a semi-automatic rifle, as well as evidence that water from a creek was being diverted to a makeshift dam used to water the marijuana plants, Stinson said.

Based on the number of firearms at the grow and the presence of two campsites — where trash, sleeping bags and car batteries littered the area — authorities suspect multiple people were tending the illicit marijuana garden, Stinson said, though no others were found.

“When you’re dealing with this many plants, they require tending by the growers,” Stinson said. “It becomes a live-in operation where you have several people living in the park 24/7.”

A second illegal marijuana operation at the Sugarloaf Ridge State Park led to the arrest of Bernardino Sanchez Martinez, 47, and Maurilio Aguilar Torres, 28, on Sept. 2, Stinson said.

Rangers had spotted the plants from a helicopter during an aerial survey, which they typically do during the marijuana season, Stinson said.

Authorities counted 627 marijuana plants at the location during their raid, as well as waste and illegal water diversion techniques similar to those found at the earlier site, Stinson said. Rangers also found a gun.

Both Aguilar Torres and Sanchez Martinez were actively tending to marijuana plants when they were contacted by park authorities, Stinson said.

A third marijuana grow that had 1,606 plants was located at Robert Louis Stevenson State Park on Sept. 3 but no one was there when authorities arrived, Stinson said.

State park police, rangers and lifeguards returned to each of the parks later and eradicated the remaining cannabis plants, removed the water diversions and confirmed that the grow operations were no longer active, the parks department said in a news release.

Each of the three men were taken to the Sonoma County Jail after their arrests and were held on suspicion of illegal cannabis cultivation, carrying a loaded firearm in public, unlawful water diversion and polluting a state waterway, Stinson said.

Doval Martinez was additionally held on suspicion of possessing an assault weapon.

None of the men was still in custody as of Friday, the Sonoma County Jail’s online inmate logs showed.

Sugarloaf Ridge State Park, about seven miles east of Santa Rosa, has 21 miles of hiking trails, camping and picnicking.

Robert Louis Stevenson State Park, operated by the Napa County Regional Park and Open Space District, has more than 5,200 acres on which visitors can hike, bike, rock climb and view diverse wildlife.

You can reach Staff Writer Lori A. Carter at 707-521-5470 or lori.carter@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @loriacarter.