LAKE COUNTY — An early morning investigation into an illegal marijuana cultivation operation resulted in the shooting death of a man on Wednesday. A Lake County Sheriff”s deputy shot and killed the man after he allegedly raised a rifle toward law enforcement officials.
The man has not been identified; however, he is described as a middle-aged Hispanic male.
Lake County Sheriff”s Office (LCSO) Sgt. Brian Martin said the LCSO”s “Citywatch” system was activated. The system is a type of reverse 9-1-1 system that delivers a recorded message to residents in the vicinity of an incident to make them aware of the situation.
“Marijuana growing operations on public lands, such as the one being investigated (Wednesday), are typically staffed by more than one person,” Sgt. Martin said. “No other people were observed during this incident. The notification was made to residents in the area to alert them that there is a possibility that other people may be present and to notify the Lake County Sheriff”s Department of any suspicious activity.”
According to Martin, sheriff deputies were assisting agents from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) with investigation of the illegal garden, which was situated in a remote location approximately a half-mile off the road in the area of Socrates Mine Road and Ford Flat Road between Middletown and Cobb. The illegal garden allegedly contained several hundred marijuana plants.
Sgt. Martin said just before 6:30 a.m., deputies encountered a male subject who was armed with a rifle. “Deputies ordered the man to put down the firearm,” Sgt. Martin said. “The man instead raised his riffle towards the law enforcement officials.”
Sgt. Martin said that a deputy discharged his firearm and fatally wounded the man. The man was pronounced dead on the scene. Sgt. Martin said that the department is not releasing information regarding the number of shots fired and/or the location of the man”s person in which he was shot as the incident is under investigation.
“I can tell you that there were several law enforcement personnel at the scene at the time of the shooting, but only one deputy discharged his firearm,” Sgt. Martin said.
Investigation of the incident is being conducted by the LCSO, Lake County District Attorney”s Office and the BLM.
Contact South County reporter Denise Rockenstein at drockenstein@clearlakeobserver.com or call her directly at 994-6444, ext. 11.
