Posted on 08/10/2022 10:36:03 AM PDT by nickcarraway
Los Angeles County narcotics investigators were unable to convince District Attorney George Gascon or California Attorney General Rob Bonta to file felony charges against international cartel members after busting the largest illegal marijuana operation in the area’s history.
The monthslong operation culminated during 10 days in May when 287 search warrants were served by hundreds of law enforcement officials in a desert north of Los Angeles. They found harvested marijuana worth $1.4 billion along with 40 firearms, which included numerous rifles. Authorities arrested 105 people.
Investigators sought to convince Gascon’s office that felony charges were warranted in this case because of the egregious nature of the farm sites. Hazardous pesticides were routinely used on 270,000 plants that have certainly infiltrated the groundwater, said Lt. Howard Fuchs with the LA County Sheriff's Department.
The answer was a resounding no.
The sheriff's department wanted to charge Health and Safety Code Section 11358, a felony, which alleges that the suspects violated a water code pertaining to hazardous runoff by using carbofuran. This illegal pesticide immediately kills wildlife up to the size of a bear.
“Our investigators were unable to convince prosecutors to file felony charges," Fuchs said of Gascon’s satellite office in Antelope Valley, which is on the way to California’s central farm belt. “The filing DA and the presiding judge said the case was overcharged by using the felony section."
Last month, Bonta toured Antelope Valley by helicopter to view the epidemic of illegal marijuana groves sprouting up around the state, sucking dry the water wells, aquifers, and other supplies during a drought. The recent record-breaking raid was discussed with him in a forum that included other elected officials and law enforcement.
“I told him we attempted to file these as felonies," Fuchs said. "He was receptive. He listened intently and took notes and asked questions."
But there has been no response from Bonta regarding holding the suspects accountable, and so far, nothing has happened. Nine people in the group faced felony weapons charges, but the rest received citations tantamount to traffic tickets. The suspects were released and are likely out scouting for a new location to resume business, Sheriff Alex Villanueva said.
California laws lack teeth when it comes to commercial marijuana cultivation and sales. Perpetrators face misdemeanor charges of operating cultivation sites without a state permit and are usually back in business immediately, officials say.
Undaunted, law enforcement destroy their camps and moved on to their next investigation.
Villanueva called the inability to hold cartels accountable “disturbing.”
“As a lifelong Sierra Club member and environmentalist, I’ve always done everything I can to protect the environment,” he said. “You can’t get much worse than cartels destroying the environment for profit. This is impacting the community in the high desert, the water supply, the environment, the wildlife. Last year, we came across the carcasses of bears who had been drinking contaminated water.”
Gascon has a stated policy of downgrading felony charges in many violent crimes, including murder, gang involvement, and sexual assault. He did not respond to a request for comment. As for Bonta, he said in a press release that illicit marijuana growers need to be held accountable.
"Illegal grow sites harm our environment and undermine businesses that do things the right way," Bonta said. "Together, we're fighting to stop our waterways from being polluted and pushing back on illegal and unlicensed activity. I greatly appreciate the work of all of our partners across the state to continue to take on this challenge.”
I assume this would be a prosecution that would play across the political divide. Even libertarians.
Fast approaching 3rd world status, eh Cancerfornia?
No OnE Is AbOvE tHe RuLe Of LaW
The libtards have been paid off by the cartels
Seems rather obvious
California prosecutors aren’t punishing anybody for anything, and won’t be until they crate Thought Crimes.
Sadly we’ve only got the rule of lawyers ... Leftwingers at that.
Har har har. Suck it, Kalifornia.
I thought this was a Babylon Bee headline at first.
They should have just said the growers were Trump supporting capitalists.
Just bring onboard the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) and the US EPA for pesticide label violations.
Legalize it and tax it, they said....
If the cartel growers were charged with felonies, it would seriously disrupt the flow of Bribe Money to the AG and DA
Maybe a nice spray of Agent
Orange could get the cartels attention. Bring a nuke to a Bong fight
Ill bet if you modified your diesel truck not to require DEF they would prosecute you.
.
And it also infiltrates the fools who smoke it. But LA is more worried about environmental slogans.
warrants... to arrest somebody on state land???
Villanueva called the inability to hold cartels accountable “disturbing.”
I’m surprise the California Franchise Tax Board isn’t on this like white on rice. Aren’t legal commercial growers obliged to pay a tax?
No, the Democrat DA’s mentioned solely determine whether or not to go forward with a case. No GOP folks have any input.
Wanna guess what type of campaign contribution was made available to these two Democrats? It is not like anyone has to threaten either of these two turds to lay back. They support criminal enterprises.
Sounds like the cartels have members in some of the highest state offices in kali.
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