SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned two indictments today, charging two residents of Mexico with separate conspiracies to grow marijuana in national forest land, Acting United States Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
In a two-count indictment, Antonio Guadalupe Lopez-Garcia, 57, was charged with conspiracy to cultivate marijuana and cultivating marijuana. According to court documents, on July 11, 2016, Lopez-Garcia was arrested while working at a marijuana cultivation site growing approximately 8,000 plants in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest near Screwdriver Creek. This case is the product of an investigation by the U.S. Forest Service, the California Department of Fish & Wildlife, and the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office. #2:16-cr-143 GEB
In a separate two-count indictment, Pedro Madriz Rodrigues, 25, was charged with conspiracy to cultivate marijuana and cultivating marijuana. According to court documents, on July 15, 2016, Rodrigues was arrested at a marijuana cultivation site in Klamath National Forest in Siskiyou County near Cody Creek. The site contained approximately 6,700 plants. This case is the product of an investigation by the U.S. Forest Service, the California Department of Fish & Wildlife, and the North State Marijuana Investigation Taskforce.
2:16-cr-144 MCE
Both defendants are in custody. Assistant United States Attorney James Conolly is prosecuting both cases.
If convicted, each defendant faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine for each count. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.