Jacinto Correa Cruz, 56, a Mexican national, pleaded guilty to damaging federal lands and manufacturing and possessing marijuana plants with intent to distribute in connection with a large-scale illegal cannabis cultivation operation in the Los Padres National Forest, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of California announced today.
As part of his plea agreement, Correa Cruz admitted to damaging federal property by participating in an illegal marijuana grow operation on public lands and knowingly cultivating marijuana plants, the department said.
According to court documents, Correa Cruz was arrested in July 2022 during a multi-agency search of a large-scale marijuana cultivation site in the Los Padres National Forest’s Ventana Complex, the department noted.
The complex is located in the federally protected Ventana Wilderness, a biodiversity hotspot home to more threatened and endangered species than any other national forest in California, the department explained.
The investigation revealed two plots where most native vegetation had been cleared to grow approximately 10,000 marijuana plants, the department reported.