One arrested in connection with Canyon marijuana cultivation

9/5/07
By Victoria Metcalf
Staff Writer
http://www.plumasnews.com/news_story.edi?sid=5403

One man has been arrested and charged with cultivation and resisting arrest for his part in illegal marijuana cultivation projects at several locations in the Feather River Canyon (California). The 22-year-old Mexican national has also been placed on a U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service hold.

Manuel Salvador Bierrueta-Macias allegedly fled from a marijuana cultivation site as sheriff's officers arrived. The site was located in a drainage area in the Canyon, according to Plumas County Sheriff's Commander Rod DeCrona.

When officers from multi-state, county and federal agencies launched an assault on numerous cultivation sites early Monday, Aug. 27, at least eight individuals believed to be maintaining the gardens fled into the forest.

Bierrueta-Macias is believed to be one of those individuals. According to DeCrona, officers attempted to apprehend the alleged cultivators, including.

A Plumas National Forest engine crew spotted him Tuesday, Aug. 28, along Highway 70 near Opapee Creek. The crew had been used in support services and was aware of the situation. They radioed their suspicions ahead to law enforcement that had moved ahead to assist Butte County marijuana eradication efforts, according to DeCrona.

As Bierrueta-Macias continued to walk along Highway 70, an officer in an unmarked sheriff's unit located him. He didn't realize that he was being offered a ride by law enforcement until he was inside the unit, DeCrona added.

When DeCrona was asked about the man's physical condition after being out in the mountains for two nights, he said that Bierrueta-Macias was "physically thrashed."

DeCrona explained that the man appeared dehydrated and had a big bump on his head that he sustained when he fell as officers pursued him. He also had numerous scratches and bruises received from falling and running into branches and had torn his shirt as he allegedly fled law enforcement.

The young man was not armed when he was picked up, DeCrona said, and he didn't resist at that time. The resistance charge stemmed from Bierrueta-Macias' alleged initial flight from officers.

In Quincy, officers identified Bierrueta-Macias as the young man they had pursued after he allegedly fled from one of the mountainside gardens.

DeCrona said that Bierrueta-Macias had confessed to being illegally in the United States, as well as to working in the gardens.

Although Bierrueta-Macias doesn't speak English, DeCrona said that one of the commanding officers and a dispatcher from the Sheriff's Office spoke fluent Spanish and were available for translation.

Bierrueta-Macias told sheriff's interpreters that he'd only been in the area for three days. He reportedly said that he'd been promised in Mexico that he would receive $10,000 for working in the gardens, according to DeCrona.

The young man has not been given an opportunity for bail because he's an INS hold.