Former Fresno Teacher’s Aide Pleads Guilty to Marijuana Cultivation Operation in Trinity County

FRESNO, Calif. —Kevin Nouthai Yang, 48, of Fresno, pleaded guilty today to conspiring to cultivate, distribute and possess with intent to distribute marijuana grown on property that he owned in Hayfork in the Shasta Trinity National Forest, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.

According to court documents, Yang, who was then a high school teacher’s aide for the Central Unified School District, was found at the Hayfork property during the execution of a federal search warrant. U.S. Forest Service agents had obtained the search warrant after seeing hundreds of large, mature marijuana plants growing on Yang’s property. Yang was in the process of harvesting marijuana and was in possession of 324 pounds of marijuana, 200 marijuana plants, and a firearm. Some of the marijuana grown on Yang’s property had already been distributed to Fresno. In pleading guilty, Yang also agreed to the forfeiture of the property and the seized firearm.

Yang is scheduled for sentencing on May 2, 2016. He faces a maximum prison term of 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine. The actual sentence, however, will 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.

This case is the product of an investigation by the U.S. Forest Service and Trinity County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Karen A. Escobar is prosecuting the case.