Full Notification

Stanislaus Co., CA -

The Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office is pleased to release the results of a major week-long joint marijuana eradication operation which took place between Monday, May 31st and Friday, June 4th, 2021.  Spearheaded largely by the Sheriff’s Office Community Resource Unit (CRU), which is comprised of a supervising sergeant and 11 sheriff’s deputies, the operation targeted over 60 confirmed outdoor and indoor illicit marijuana grows throughout the entire county.    

Our efforts were the culmination of a longstanding, months-long investigation into those who choose to disregard state, federal and local statutes regarding the cultivation of marijuana cannabis.  Together, our agency partnered with countless other agencies in order to make the operation run as smoothly as possible.  All locations spanning many corners of the county were the subject of search warrants previously approved by local Superior Court judges.     

We were assisted by Northern and Southern California teams from the Bureau of Cannabis Control, specifically the Cannabis Enforcement Unit, as well as Stanislaus County Public Works, Stanislaus Animal Services, Turlock and Modesto Irrigation Districts, Riverbank, Patterson and Stanislaus Co Code Enforcement, Pacific, Gas & Electric, California Department of Fish & Wildlife, S/O Special Investigations, Air Support & SWAT, Fusion Center Crime Analyst/Statistical tracking team, Stanislaus Regional 911 communications center, and Waterford, Patterson, Hughson and Riverbank Police Services.  

The final statistical data of the whole operation included the following: 

74,088 eradicated marijuana plants, 39,883 of which were fully budded marijuana plants, 34 grows were hauled off entirely, 25 were cut and left in-place, 36,954 were young clones, 1,687.3 pounds of fully processed marijuana plants were recovered, 46 firearms were seized, $172,347 in cash was seized, 83 people were either physically arrested, booked or issued citations for various new law violations, 26 places had their power shut-off by their respective local utility companies, 16 code enforcement referrals were made, and 13 warrants resulted in Child or Adult Protective Services referrals for unsafe living conditions wherein guardians were arrested for endangering their kids.  

The total estimated street value of all the eradicated marijuana was nearly $ 100 million.  Our records clerks were still compiling a list of those individuals arrested throughout the week at the writing of this press release.  Below you will find a compilation of those physically arrested and booked from the beginning of the week, up until mid-day Friday, June 4th at 12 noon.  Other late arrests and bookings can be made publicly available later next week once available.  Certain representatives of print and television news journalists were also invited to observe our operations in-person and for themselves.   

Animal Services was needed for neglected dogs, cats, cattle, horses and a bull.  We even encountered an out-of-compliance registered sex offender in the Airport District Tuesday afternoon who was also taken into custody.  

We could not have successfully completed this large-scale, complex and well-choreographed operation without the contributing efforts of all those agencies.  Our office would like to remind the general public of the dangers which exist from illegally growing or cultivating marijuana.  

Oftentimes, they are the targets of violent, take-over style home invasions where people are armed with weapons.  Shootings, robberies, aggravated assaults, kidnappings and burglaries are some of the unintended victimization consequences for those trying to profit from the sales of black-market marijuana.

Other dangers associated from these types of grow operations include the environmental fallout from toxic pesticides saturating the soil, gaseous fumes infiltrating nearby structures and fungal molds growing unabated in excessive heat and humidity.  Utilities are routinely stolen from others instead of paying for their electricity.  Furthermore, people are often trafficked from outside the United States as a less-expensive option to provide the human capital needed to tend to the illegal crop.  

The state and the county have specific guidelines, tracking mechanisms, revenue collection means, and laws which must be followed for a legitimate or regulated business to engage in the commerce of legalized marijuana.  Each of these 64 locations which were targeted last week chose to ignore those mandates.  

Now that we have taken the appropriate marijuana samples for evidentiary purposes, incinerated the rest, and have concluded our preliminary criminal investigation, we will be referring these cases to the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office for review and eventual prosecution.  Attached are an assortment of photographs taken throughout the week depicting the various marijuana grow sites which were targeted.

Our office and partnering law enforcement agencies are committed to maintaining a higher quality of living and safety for all our neighbors.  These types of illicit marijuana grows are one of the higher frequency community complaints which are routinely and anonymously received from our residents.  The odors, the short-term pedestrian and vehicle traffic, as well as the dangers posed from possible armed confrontations, make these neighborhoods less safe for everybody.  We again thank all those involved in this week’s marijuana eradication operation. 

Sheriff Jeff Dirkse says, “We truly appreciate the assistance from all allied agencies who came together in order to make this operation a tremendous success.  The community can rest assured we are dedicated to strongly regulating and enforcing all black market, cannabis-related laws.”