Armed Mexican National Indicted for Marijuana Cultivation Operation in National Forest

FRESNO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned a five-count indictment today against Marco Lizandro Duarte-Beltran, aka Marco Antonio Duarte-Beltran, 32, an undocumented alien from Mexico, charging him with conspiring to manufacture, distribute, and possess with intent to distribute marijuana, manufacturing marijuana, damaging public lands and natural resources, being an alien in possession of firearms, and being a previously deported alien found in the United States, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to court documents, law enforcement officers located 1,865 marijuana plants in the Millwood Creek area of the Sequoia National Forest after a two-month investigation. Duarte-Beltran was apprehended at the marijuana cultivation site. He was armed with a loaded revolver and had access to a loaded rifle at his campsite where he was living while growing the marijuana.

The marijuana cultivation operation caused significant damage to the land and natural resources. Native vegetation and tree limbs had been cut and thinned out to make room for the plants. Three areas had been terraced for the campsite. Water had been diverted from a water source on federal land to irrigate the plants. Throughout the grow site, law enforcement officers found irrigation tubing, trash, seed trays, seed pots, fertilizers, and pesticides.

This case was the product of an investigation by the U.S. Forest Service with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and Enforcement and Removal Operations of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Campaign Against Marijuana Planting (CAMP), California National Guard, Fresno Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Karen A. Escobar is prosecuting the case.

If convicted of the drug conspiracy and manufacturing offense, Duarte-Beltran faces a mandatory minimum statutory penalty of 10 years and a maximum penalty of life in prison, as well as a $10 million fine. The environmental, firearms, and immigration crimes all carry a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years and a fine of up to $250,000. In addition, Duarte-Beltran may be liable for restitution to the U.S. Forest Service for damage sustained to the land and natural resources as a result of the cultivation activities. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.