FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE	Monday, July 2, 2012
Docket #: 1:11CR358 AWI

FRESNO, Calif. — Carlos Mendez-Sosa, 30, of Delano, was sentenced today to three years and 10 months in prison for conspiring to cultivate, distribute and possess with intent to distribute marijuana grown on public land, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced. Upon completion of his prison term, Mendez-Sosa is subject to deportation to Mexico, having previously entered the United States illegally.

According to court documents, Mendez-Sosa was involved in the cultivation of marijuana in the Sentinel Peak area of the Sequoia National Forest in Tulare County. At the cultivation site, law enforcement agents found evidence of more than 16,205 marijuana plants, more than 850 pounds of processed marijuana, and three firearms, including an assault rifle. Native vegetation was cut to make room for the marijuana plants. Trash and fertilizer containers were scattered throughout the site and in a flowing stream. Mendez-Sosa was ordered to pay $3,686 in restitution to the U.S. Forest Service for the cost of cleaning up the land and natural resources damaged by the illicit cultivation operation.

This case was the product of an investigation by the U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Bureau of Land Management, Southern Tri-County High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA), California Department of Justice Campaign Against Marijuana Planting (CAMP), California Department of Fish and Game, and Tulare County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Karen Escobar prosecuted the case.

####

 

Return to Top