A team of Sheriff’s narcotic detectives and a K-9 unit swooped down on a marijuana farm near Stage Gulch Road and Hwy 116 early Wednesday morning, nabbing two growers and destroying 5,000 plants.
The street value of the haul, including 30 pounds of processed pot drying on ropes, was $5.5 million, according to Sgt. Chris Bertoli of the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Department Narcotics Unit.
The farm, concealed by thick brush and surrounded by vineyards, was a detailed operation. Natural springs had been tapped to feed custom-built reservoirs, each holding 925 gallons of water. Gas-powered pumps then delivered the water to the plants in the field. There was the plant drying operation – indicating that the harvest had begun – and a shelter used for cooking meals. A rifle and four cell phones were also found.
The area had been identified by Sheriff’s fly-over surveillance. Because of the scale of the operation, Bertoli said his department believed that numerous individuals would be involved in its maintenance, with some possibly living there.
The raid began at 5:18 a.m. as the insertion team of six detectives and a Sheriff K-9 entered the area on foot and discovered three men sleeping in a campsite adjacent to the pot field.
As the officers closed in, the suspects awoke. One ignored an order to stop and began to flee on foot. He was chased down by the police dog and was, after a struggle, finally subdued. That suspect, Tomas Soto Martinez, 27, of Michoacan, Mexico, was later treated for injuries at Sonoma Valley Hospital.
A second suspect, Rigo Tomas Soto, 20, also of Michoacan, surrendered without incident. Both men were charged with cultivation of marijuana and possession of marijuana with the intent to sell. Martinez was also charged with resisting arrest and with battery upon a police service dog. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) holds were placed on both men, denying them bail.
A third suspect managed to run into the brush and escape from detectives.
The plants were hauled out of the steep terrain by the Sheriff’s Department helicopter, Henry 1. Bertoli said the narcotics unit has seized 124,768 plants this year, compared with 120,489 at this time last year.
