Pot farmer gets 10 years in prison

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Story Published: Jul 10, 2008 at 5:36 PM PDT

Story Updated: Jul 10, 2008 at 5:38 PM PDT
By KVAL Web Staff

PORTLAND, Ore. -- A Mexican national will serve 10 years in jail for operating a 7,000-plant pot farm on public lands south of The Dalles, Ore.

Luis Sandoval-Arrellano, 35, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to manufacture more than 1,000 marijuana plants. U.S. District Court Judge Anna J. Brown sentenced Sandoval-Arrellano Monday to 120 months in prison.



The case started with a complaint to state game police in The Dalles about a hound hunter running dogs in the upper Mill Creek area 10 miles south of The Dalles, Ore.

On May 28, 2007, two OSP Fish and Wildlife Division troopers checked the area and noticed a rock that appeared out of place. The troopers suspected it could be a marker for a possible bear bait station.

The troopers noticed a set of tracks near the rock and followed the tracks into the woods approximately 100 yards, where they saw two Hispanic males drinking beer.

The men tried to run, but troopers captured Sandoval-Arrellano. He claimed to be hunting turkeys with a 9mm Glock handgun.

The troopers followed his boot prints back over the edge of a draw and down a steep ravine for a mile to a clearing that contained 7,000 marijuana plants.



The plantation featured a sophisticated watering system including a cistern, water lines and gravity fed sprinklers.

Troopers also located a camp with camping equipment, food, stoves, propane tanks and firearms (below).



A follow up investigation the next day involved an eradication team comprised of OSP troopers, United States Forest Service, Drug Enforcement Administration and members of the Mid Columbia Narcotics Task Force. The task force includes personnel from the Wasco County Sheriff's Office, Hood River County Sheriff's Office, Hood River Police Department and The Dalles Police Department.

The multi-agency eradication team traveled back to the location and found four separate areas that the forest had been cleared to grow marijuana. These plants, if allowed to grow and mature to the point of being harvested, would have had an estimated value of nearly $9 million, according to state police.



“This case demonstrates a great cooperative working relationship between state and federal law enforcement partners,â€