EL DORADO COUNTY, Calif. — A fourth man was arrested and charged for maintaining an illegal marijuana operation where El Dorado County Sheriff Deputy Brian Ishmael was shot and killed, according to the criminal complaint.
Jorge Lamas, 25, was paid $150 a day to supervise the marijuana grow from someone in Mexico, according to Drug Task Force Officer Dave Stevenson. However, Ross called 911 on Oct. 23 to report thieves stealing his cannabis plants. Authorities said Ross did not tell officers that the alleged thieves were business associates, nor did he tell authorities the men were armed, according to court documents.
The criminal complaint said Lamas ran away from the ranch after the alleged thieves opened fire.
Juan Vasquez Orozco, who was charged with murder, told law enforcement officers he thought Deputy Ishmael and the San Joaquin deputy accompanying Ishmael were thieves coming to rob him, according to court documents. Orozco admitted to firing at least 15 times during the gunfight, according to court documents.
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Ramiro Bravo Morales, 22, who was charged with accessory after the fact, gave Ross the gun he used to shoot and kill Deputy Ishmael, Stevenson said in a statement.
Lamas called 911 five hours after the shootout.
Lamas told officers on the phone that he and another person was in charge of taking care of the marijuana ranch, according to the criminal complaint.
Lamas was arrested for conspiracy to manufacture at least 50 marijuana plants, manufacture at least 50 marijuana plants and for possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense, according to the complaint.
Officers said they found two live marijuana plants and 99 marijuana stalks that were recently harvested. The cannabis grow was an illegal grow, according to court documents.
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