A federal court sentenced Felipe Angeles Valdez-Colima to 10 years in prison on 10 June 2019 for conspiring to manufacture, distribute and possess marijuana with intent to distribute in the Kiavah Wilderness area of Sequoia National Forest.[1] The court also ordered him to pay $7,620 in restitution to the US Forest Service for damage to natural resources.[1]
Officers had apprehended Valdez-Colima with Rodolfo Torres-Galvan and Mauricio Vaca-Bucio on 6 July 2018 after watching Valdez and Torres emerge from the forest at a known drop point used by growers to reach remote sites.[1][2] The men drove off in a vehicle driven by Vaca that officers stopped and searched, finding freshly harvested marijuana inside.[1][2] Officers located more than 1,000 plants at grow sites along the interconnected trails from the drop point, plus the illegal pesticides carbofuran and zinc phosphide in the vehicle and on site.[1][2]
Co-defendants
Torres had previously been sentenced to 46 months in prison, and Vaca-Bucio was sentenced on 5 August 2019 to 24 months for the same conspiracy.[1][2] The case was investigated by the US Forest Service with the immigration enforcement agency, the Campaign Against Marijuana Planting, California Fish and Wildlife, the California National Guard, the Kern County Sheriff’s Office and county probation officers.[2]
