KELSEYVILLE — The Lake County Sheriff”s Office arrested brothers Thursday after finding them and 9,209 marijuana plants at a grow in Kelseyville.
Jaime Padilla Busio, 31, and Benjamin Padilla Busio, 37, both of Ukiah were arrested on suspicion of felony charges of cultivating marijuana, possession of marijuana for sale and misdemeanor Fish and Game violations relating to diverting and polluting natural water resources, Capt. James Bauman of LCSO stated.
On Thursday morning, two deputies assigned to special enforcement were conducting surveillance on two marijuana grow sites identified a week prior during a helicopter over flight in the Kelsey Creek area of Kelseyville, LCSO reported.
After locating two additional grow sites in the area, the deputies found a camp among the grows occupied by the two brothers. Both men were arrested without incident.
During their surveillance, deputies counted and later eradicated a total of 9,209 marijuana plants from four different grow sites allegedly maintained by the two men, Bauman said.
LCSO stated the men diverted water from Kelsey Creek, dammed the water in some places and bags of fertilizer were also found throughout the creek”s watershed area. A dead black bear was also located near one of the grow sites and although it appeared to have been dead for only about a week, neither of the men claimed knowledge of how it died.
Both men remain in custody on a bail of $10,000 each and both have immigration holds in place.
