Treasure of the Sierra Madres

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PRESS RELEASE from the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department


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New Cuyama - On Friday, 04-17-09, at approximately 11:30 a.m., two
adults, who had been camping in the Aliso Park area west of New
Cuyama, came across an active marijuana garden.


While in the area, the campers were approached by two Hispanic male
adult subjects who were tending to the marijuana garden.


The subjects attempted to converse with the campers, however due to a
language barrier, they were unsuccessful. The subjects requested that
the campers remain in the area, until the arrival of the "boss" who
spoke English. The campers became fearful and packed up their gear
and
left the area. While the campers were driving down the dirt road,
they
were approached by a pick up truck traveling the opposite direction.
As they passed the truck, they noticed the occupants seemed very
interested in them. The truck stopped and the driver exited and
waived
for the campers to come back. They ignored his request and kept
driving, believing he was the "boss" that the two subjects had
referred to earlier. The driver returned to his truck and began
chasing the campers down the mountain. During the chase, the truck
came dangerously close to the campers' vehicle several times.


Once the campers reached the paved road, they were able to distance
themselves from the truck and contact law enforcement. A Santa
Barbara
County Deputy Sheriff obtained the information from the campers and
quickly disseminated it to local agencies. A short time later, a Taft
Police Officer spotted a truck, matching the description provided by
the campers. A traffic stop was conducted and as a result Javier
Barragan (DOB 1/31/69) and Jose Lopez (DOB 5/3/71) were contacted.
Both subjects were positively identified by the campers, as the
persons who chased them down the mountains. The two were taken into
custody and a search of the vehicle was conducted. During the search,
five high powered rifles, equipped with rifle scopes and numerous
rounds of ammunition were found.


United States Forest Service and Santa Barbara County Sheriff
personnel responded to the marijuana garden to eradicate the plants.
Once there, a large scale marijuana garden was found containing
13,300
growing marijuana plants. The estimated street value of the plants is
approximately $26,600,000.


Barragan and Lopez were booked into the Santa Maria Jail for
marijuana
cultivation. Pending further investigation, false imprisonment and/or
weapons charges may be added. Their bail is set at $50,000 each.
Barragan resides in Maywood, Ca. and Lopez from Paramount, Ca.


The Sheriff's Department and US Forest Service cautions hikers,
campers and hunters that marijuana growing season is upon us. Most
outside gardens are located in remote areas of the


National Forest and are tended by Mexican Nationals who are usually
armed. Do not attempt to make contact with them. Any suspicious
activity should be reported to the Sheriff's Department
or the US Forest Service.