Warrants Issued For Mexican Nationals Indicted On Drug Charges

By: Brianne Betts
Published: November 18, 2011

NEW LEXINGTON, Ohio -- Two men from Mexico were indicted Thursday on second-degree felony counts of cultivation of marijuana.

According to the Office of the Perry County Sheriff, 43-year-old Jose Guadalupe Lopez and 20-year-old Carlos Alvarado Martinez each have extensive criminal histories involving drugs and nationwide arrest warrants have been issued for them.

Investigators said that once captured, they will be extradited to Perry County to answer to the charges, and if they are convicted, each faces up to eight years in prison.

The charges stem from the August 1, 2008 seizure of 5,970 marijuana plants in a rural area off of Harrison Township Road 208 near Crooksville, according to the Perry County sheriff.

Investigators said the plants were discovered by a helicopter spotter during marijuana eradication efforts, and the suspects who were living in a camp in the field fled as law enforcement officers descended on the area.

According to the Perry County sheriff, once the plants were harvested by deputies, a joint investigation began involving the sheriff's office and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation.

Investigators said they located fingerprint and DNA evidence in the encampment which helped them identify the suspects.

The marijuana plants had an estimated street value of $9 million, according to the sheriff's office.

http://www2.nbc4i.com/news/2011/nov/18/ ... ar-833849/