MODESTO, Calif. — *The Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department said they provided inaccurate information pertaining to the role of the 15-year-old and the number of grows in the county. The article has been updated to reflect that there are 1,500 outdoor grows in the county and the operation was tended to by the 15-year-old and not run by the teenager.
While doing a flyover, Stanislaus County Sherrif's deputies saw something out of the ordinary: an illegal marijuana operation of 13 greenhouses housing 3,400 plants.
The Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department raided the 13 greenhouse grow operation on the 7800 block Monterey Ave, which was in a rural area of Monterey Tract, south of Modesto.
The grow operation was tended to by a 15-year-old from Mexico, whose are not in the country said Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department spokesperson Sgt. Josh Clayton. Deputies arrested seven people and found an unregistered handgun.
The Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department used its robot to take point as they were making their way through the grow site. Clayton said sheriff's deputies use it go from room to room, so they are not surprised by someone.
He added that other marijuana grows were found in the same neighborhood while sheriff's deputies were flying over, and that there are at least 1,500 outdoor grows in the county.
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"We can't do [1,500] grow operations and shut them all down," Clayton said. He said grow operations go through a cost and benefit analysis based on how likely they would be served a search warrant.
With that many grow operations running at any given point in time, the chances of getting a search warrant are low.
