SOUTHWEST RIVERSIDE COUNTY – Several marijuana cultivation busts in in Riverside County yielded confiscated plants with a potential yield of an estimated 1,550 to 2,300 pounds of processed drugs.
In Menifee, Riverside Sheriff’s deputies served four search warrants on Thursday, August 6. The warrants, which were all related to the illegal cultivation of marijuana, were served at various locations in the Quail Valley neighborhood of east Menifee.
According to a press release, the bust at all four locations netted approximately 650 marijuana plants at various stages of growth, all of which were eradicated. When fully grown and processed, the plants were estimated to potentially yield 1200-1800 pounds of processed marijuana, with an estimated street value well over $1 million.
Juan Arriega Ortiz, a 23-year-old man, was arrested and booked at the Southwest Detention Center for cultivation of marijuana. There were three other suspects identified in the illegal grows, but since none of them were present at the time of the search, the Sheriff’s Department plans on filing charges with the Riverside County District Attorney at a later date.
Following up on a reported grow, another bust occurred on Tuesday, August 11, when the Southwest Corridor Narcotics Task Force served a search warrant at a residence located in the 17000 Block of Cajon Drive, in the unincorporated area of Gavilan Hills, west of Perris.
Deputies confirmed that marijuana was illegally being cultivated on the property in a large greenhouse. There were a reported 170 marijuana plants seized and eradicated. The Sheriff’s Department reports that when fully grown and processed, the plants would have yielded an estimated 350 – 500 pounds of processed marijuana, with an estimated street value well over $750,000. Dino Carrera, a 39-year-old man from Perris, was arrested and booked into the Southwest Detention Center on felony violation of cultivating marijuana.
