Staff reports
CLEARLAKE >> Police officers seized more than 3,000 plans and arrested five suspects believed to be involved in the commercial cultivation of marijuana as a result of serving search warrants.
Monday at about 8 a.m. teams of Clearlake Police Department (CPD) officers served three search warrants in the 4700 block of Yarrington Court, Lt. Tim Celli reported Tuesday. At the first location, officers seized 2,375 marijuana plants from the outdoor grow site along with some indoor growing marijuana. Several rooms inside this residence were set up for indoor growing; however, most of the marijuana plants were from a large outdoor grow. The entire front yard and surrounding side yard of this location was used as a grow site.
Replica firearms were discovered at this site, but there were no actual firearms located. A suspect identified as Vicente Sanchez Montalvo, 21, was inside the residence and taken into custody.
At the next location, officers seized 115 plants from a hoop house structure located on the property. Carlos Cabata Zazueta, 42, was inside the home at the time. A realistic pellet rifle was observed in this property, but investigators found no true weapons.
At the third location, officers collected 588 plants from three hoop houses allegedly tended by Erik Felix, 20, Manuel Felix, 32, and Manuel Felix Zuzueta, 53. The three were associated with the property and apprehended.
The hoop houses were set up for a light deprivation type growing operation used to accelerate growth. Some of the marijuana plants in the hoop houses were approximately 4 to 5 feet in height and were close to being at harvest stage.
Erik Felix allegedly admitted that this grow site was his and that he came from Los Angeles to grow the marijuana approximately two months earlier.
Officers located a box for a firearm and a magazine, no firearm was located.
All five suspects were later transported and booked into the Lake County jail and face the charge of cultivation of marijuana.
