Fourth man charged in Mexican pot conspiracy that cops say killed El Dorado sheriff’s deputy

[Elderberry]

The Sacramento Bee by Sam Stanton 10/29/2019

Federal officials have charged a fourth man in connection with last week’s marijuana field shootout that killed El Dorado County sheriff’s Deputy Brian Ishmael, saying the new defendant was part of a conspiracy run out of Mexico that oversaw two marijuana grows in rural areas of Somerset and Georgetown.

“Lamas was paid $150 a day to supervise related marijuana cultivation operations divided into smaller marijuana gardens on rural private land. Lamas was paid by a person in Mexico.”

The use of smaller grow sites on private lands rather than the traditional use of huge pot grows in isolated National Forest lands is a trend that law enforcement sources say has been growing since California voters legalized recreational marijuana in 2016.

With state marijuana-growing penalties confusing and relatively minor, officials say drug cartels have moved away from having to haul growing equipment far into forests and instead have begun renting grow sites from individuals that the marijuana growers can easily drive to.

More: https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/crime/article236777383.html

[PeteS in CA]

Thank you morons who voted for "recreational" MJ and for the "medicinal" MJ Trojan Horse!