Illegal Marijuana Grow Site Discovered in Napa County
Two men, 31-year-old Petaluma resident Victor Johnsen and 19-year-old Jared Schuppe of Wisconsin–were arrested on suspicion of cultivating marijuana, possessing marijuana for sale and conspiracy to commit a criminal act, according to NSIB officials.
This is the 2nd major Bay Area drug bust of the month, one which left officials with a notable seizure of about 2 million worth of illegal cannabis.
Police were able to identify the operation happening on property owned by an out-of-state corporation. The illegal marijuana grow site was hidden in a remote part of Napa County near Lake Berryessa.
It was this find that promoted NSIB agents to issue a search warrant at the site of a large-scale growing operation in the 3400 block of Sage Canyon Road, NSIB officials said.
At the grow operation, agents found sleeping quarters, a large tractor and elaborate setup wherein almost 1,000 marijuana plants were being grown in four large greenhouses, NSIB officials said.
Due to the amount of unpermitted grading seen on the rural property and potential for water diversion and environmental damage from fertilizers, pesticides and rodent poisons commonly found in illicit marijuana grow operations, agents requested assistance from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife along with county engineering and environmental experts, according to the NSIB.
The two men arrested– 31-year-old Petaluma resident Victor Johnsen and 19-year-old Jared Schuppe of Wisconsin–were also discovered to be conspiring with others in San Mateo and Sonoma counties to grow marijuana for profit.
It was this discovery that led officials to serve related search warrants at a home near La Honda in San Mateo County and at another home outside of Sebastopol in Sonoma County.
It was at these locations agents seized additional evidence of marijuana trafficking, according to NSIB officials.
