Second man sentenced to over 3 years in prison for growing more than 5,000 marijuana plants in Lassen National Forest

Release Date: Jan 22, 2015

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Daniel Gomez-Gonzalez, 32, of Mexico, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Troy L. Nunley to three years and one month in prison for growing marijuana in the Lassen National Forest, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.

According to court documents, on July 11, 2014, United States Forest Service agents and Tehama County Sheriff’s deputies raided a marijuana cultivation site near the North Fork Antelope Creek in Tehama County in Lassen National Forest. Law enforcement eradicated a total of 5,287 marijuana plants at the cultivation site. They also found a Remington shotgun, more than 1,000 pounds of trash and various types of fertilizers, insecticides, and animal poisons at the grow site. Gomez-Gonzalez was arrested on a forest trail west of the site. He told law enforcement that he was responsible for spraying, watering, and fertilizing the marijuana plants and that he expected to earn a portion of the profits generated from the marijuana grown at the site.

Co-defendant Eric Perez was arrested the same day in the marijuana cultivation site. Law enforcement had observed Perez watering marijuana plants. Perez pleaded guilty to manufacturing marijuana on October 16, 2014, and on January 15, 2015, Judge Nunley sentenced him to three years and one month in prison.

This case was the product of an investigation by the United States Forest Service and Tehama County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Christiaan Highsmith prosecuted the case.

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