WATSONVILLE, Calif.- The Santa Cruz County Anti Crime Team executed a search warrant at 20 Hecker Pass Rd. Tuesday morning finding 3,600 live marijuana plants, following an eight-month-long investigation into a commercial marijuana cultivation operation, deemed the largest in-door marijuana grow that has been seized in Santa Cruz County.
The Team, assisted by members of the Santa Cruz County Auto Theft Task Force, Watsonville Police Investigations, Monterey County Narcotics Task force, and Department of Homeland Security executed the warrant, seizing a total of $220,000. The estimated yield for this grow operation was between $800,000 to a $1,000,000 a year worth of marijuana being cultivated.
Agents were able to detain Charles Lettunich, Mark Boutwell and Cecil Doug Tanner at the location. Agents determined the building to be a closed down mushroom farm, which Tanner owned under the business name Ariel Mushrooms. This farm was out of business for several years.
In a news release, agents said they located six individual marijuana grow rooms that had been converted within the old mushroom grow rooms. Agents located 120 pounds of processed marijuana buds inside these rooms that were packed for sales. They located over 3,600 live marijuana plants in various stages of maturity, along with tens of thousands of dollars worth of grow equipment.
Agents secured further search warrants for Tanner's home at 70 Magnolia Dr. in Watsonville and a business located at 930 Freedom Blvd, which is Tanner Development Inc. as well as Boutwell's residence located at 24730 Foothill Dr., in Monterey County.
The news release said other valuable evidence was located, to include documentation that Tanner had paid over $100,000 in PG&E bills for this grow operation within the last 2 years. Agents further located over 10 pounds of processed marijuana at Boutwells' house.
