DFG News Release

DFG Wardens Arrest Six Suspects in Marijuana Eradication Operation on Sensitive Ecological Site

State, local and federal enforcement agents arrested six suspects and removed 4,100 marijuana plants from a sensitive state ecological area in Kern County on July19. Department of Fish and Game (DFG) wardens, Kern and Tulare County sheriff’s officers, the Bakersfield Police Department, and U.S. Forest Service agents participated in the two-month investigation and bust on the 2,789-acre Canebrake Ecological Reserve near Lake Isabella.

"These arrests are significant considering the number of marijuana plants wardens found on the property,” said DFG Director Don Koch. “Our wardens, assisted by other enforcement officers, did an outstanding job to end the destruction of such a protected ecological site and to further protect the public.”

Those arrested included Tulare County residents Juan Villafana Cornejo, 27, of Seville; Jose Luis Gomez, 20, Orosi; Andres Aeriola, 39, Orosi; Rigoberto Galvan, 28, Orosi; Eduardo Villafana Cornejo, 31, Seville; and Eduardo Villafana Osornio, 58, of Tijuana, Mexico. Some of the suspects have lengthy criminal histories and have used up to 14 different aliases from prior law enforcement contacts.

The arrests netted 9.5 pounds of processed marijuana, and 4,100 plants with a street value of $16.5 million. Also seized were $6,900 in cash, two vehicles and three firearms.

The two-month investigation pointed agents to the ecological site east of Lake Isabella. The investigation found that water sources were diverted for irrigation of the plants, and illegal fertilizers, pesticides and other chemicals were used during the cultivation. Wardens suspect that deer and other animals may have been killed to protect the marijuana plants from being eaten.

The two suspects tending the Canebrake marijuana plot - Gomez and Aeriola - were in possession of two illegally modified firearms. They fled when officers identified themselves as police in both English and Spanish and were pursued and captured on foot.

A series of charges were filed in connection with the arrests including: possession of marijuana for sale; cultivation of marijuana; child endangerment, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony; possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; possession of ammunition by a convicted felon; resisting arrest; streambed alteration; pollution of state waters; litter within 150 feet of state waters; unlawful use of pesticides on an ecological reserve; littering on an ecological reserve; and unlawful possession of a firearm on Canebrake Ecological Reserve.

“The leadership, planning and precise execution of these arrests warrants exhibit the high level of expertise our wardens have in leading this type of operation,” said Nancy Foley, DFG’s Chief of Enforcement, who was present during the operation. “The cooperation among law enforcement agencies to make this a safe and successful operation was outstanding.”

DFG wardens have assisted in a series of pot removals lead by the Campaign Against Marijuana Planting (CAMP) and other law enforcement agencies statewide for several years. On July 1 in Tulare County, agents destroyed 78,524 plants, a crop that would have yielded more than $314 million had it hit the street.

The Canebrake Ecological Reserve is a 2,789-acre ecologically sensitive habitat consisting of a gray pine oak woodland habitat with a desert chaparral component. There is a year-round supply of water from a stream that runs through the middle utilized by marijuana growing operations. Rare species like the crown muilla, a plant; the slender salamander, and the foothill yellow legged frog, also live on the reserve.

As soon as the site was secured and the marijuana removed, DFG biologists, environmental specialists, and an archeologist from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation joined wardens in the field to begin an immediate restoration of the site. All of the fertilizers, pesticides, irrigation system (which alone was an estimated one mile worth of drip line plastic pipe), garbage, and everything that consisted of the living quarters of the growers was gathered up, hauled out and safely disposed.

Anyone encountering a marijuana garden should exit the area immediately and call 911, or contact the nearest law enforcement officer. The danger to public and officers were illustrated on July 10 when an officer-involved shooting took place at another marijuana cultivation site raid in Santa Clara County and on August 2005 when DFG Warden Kyle Kroll was shot through both legs during a raid on an illegal marijuana cultivation site in Santa Clara County.