Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill sentenced Juan Pablo Villasenor-Villa, 25, of Michoacán, Mexico, to 288 months (24 years) in federal prison on 10 February 2015 for running a continuing criminal enterprise over two marijuana grows in the Boise National Forest, plus possession of large quantities of harvested marijuana and damage to public lands.[1] A jury had convicted him on 4 November 2014 on five charges, including manufacturing more than 1,000 plants, possession with intent to distribute more than 100 kilograms, and causing more than 1,000 dollars in damage to public lands.[2][1]
Two creeks, six defendants
On 11 September 2013 officers raided an outdoor grow near Rabbit Creek in Boise County, catching three workers at a camp about 100 metres from the site with two semi-automatic handguns, an AK-47-type rifle, harvested marijuana and 1,411 live plants, then eradicating them all.[3][1] Days later they took down the related Beaver Creek site off Highway 21, removing 5,463 plants and arresting Gilberto Duran Contreras nearby, for a combined 6,874 plants.[1] Villasenor-Villa and his wife Mariah were arrested in Caldwell, where officers later recovered heat-sealed one-pound packages of marijuana and 68,500 dollars in cash.[3][1]
Winmill also ordered Villasenor-Villa to pay 33,265 dollars in restitution and serve five years of supervised release; the five workers drew terms from 21 to 111 months.[1]
