Aguanga raids eradicate 9,946 plants; four arrested
Riverside County deputies and state wildlife wardens served six warrants around Aguanga on 11 February 2020, eradicating 9,946 plants and collecting 411 pounds of processed marijuana. Four men were arrested, and a disassembled honey-oil lab, firearms and vehicles were seized.
🇺🇸 Aguanga, Riverside County, California · California, United States
Arrested
4
Plants destroyed
9,946
Cannabis
186.43 kg
Agencies
Riverside County Sheriff's Department, California Department of Fish and Wildlife
On 11 February 2020 officers of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, county code enforcement and the auto-theft detail served six marijuana-cultivation search warrants around Aguanga.[1]About 9,946 plants were eradicated and 411 pounds (about 186 kg) of processed marijuana collected, a combined weight of roughly two tons.[1]
Officers also found a disassembled honey-oil lab, four firearms including an SKS rifle, a tractor, an ATV and two generators, and located two stolen vehicles on one property.[1]Four men were arrested and booked: Israel Yanez, 27, of Garden Grove, and Aguanga residents Brian Heim, 35, Jacob Buckmaster, 44, and Mitchell Rumer, 32, on cultivation counts, with Heim and Buckmaster also held on honey-oil manufacturing counts.[1]
Early-2020 sweeps
The February operation was one of a series of Riverside County sweeps of the Anza and Aguanga valleys that winter as the sheriff targeted unlicensed grows.[1]Everyone serving the warrants went home safely, and no injuries were reported.[1]
Photos and video
Officers load eradicated cannabis plants onto a trailer during the 11 February 2020 Aguanga operationPhoto details
California's Unified Cannabis Enforcement Task Force seized or destroyed 55,308 pounds of illicit cannabis and eradicated 108,226 plants between July and September 2026, Governor Gavin Newsom's office said. The quarter's operations across nine counties led to 14 arrests, nine firearms and $29,215 in cash, and brought the state's nine-month total to more than $230 million in cannabis.
Arrested 14Plants destroyed 108,226Cannabis 25.0873 t
Humboldt County sheriff's deputies eradicated about 3,102 cannabis plants and destroyed about 36 pounds of processed cannabis at two unlicensed grows near Alderpoint and Garberville on 5 and 6 October 2026. No arrests were made and the cases were sent to the District Attorney for review.
Santa Clara County sheriff's deputies eradicated about 720 marijuana plants at an illegal creekside greenhouse grow near Mt. Hamilton Road in September 2026. No suspects were found at the remote site, where officers also reported illegal water diversion from a nearby creek.
On 25 September 2026 New Mexico's Regulation and Licensing Department Enforcement Bureau and the Organized Crime Commission raided 102 Howell Road in Estancia, Torrance County, seizing and destroying about 6,300 mature cannabis plants in 21 greenhouses weighing an estimated 21,000 pounds. The case remains open for prosecution.
