By Gary Klien
Marin Independent Journal
SAN RAFAEL, Calif. — Within weeks of discovering three indoor marijuana farms in Fairfax and Novato, police have shut down a fourth in San Rafael.
Rodrigo Vincente-Sontay, 53, and his 28-year-old son, Esvin Sontay-Gramajo, were booked into the county jail early Wednesday morning after investigators descended on the home they rent at 108 Court-right Road, in the hills south of Albert Park.
Inside the home, police found “a very large and extremely sophisticated cultivation operation” in the basement, said Margo Rohrbacher, a spokeswoman for the San Rafael Police Department.
Detectives seized some 600 marijuana plants, whose street value police estimated at $800,000, plus $17,000 in cash.
“This is one of the largest drug seizures in SRPD’s history,” Rohrbacher said.
The investigation began three months ago after police received neighborhood complaints about the strong smell of marijuana.
“You can’t even really see your neighbors up there,” said San Rafael police Sgt. Dan Fink. “It’s pretty secluded. They had just harvested probably a week ago.”
The suspects had also bypassed a Pacific Gas and Electric meter to steal power, Fink said.
Both men were booked on suspicion of selling or transporting drugs, marijuana cultivation, injuring a power line, keeping a place to sell drugs and possession of cannabis. Bail was set at $15,000.
No charges were filed Wednesday while police continued to compile reports for the district attorney’s office.
Police are still investigating whether the property owner had knowledge of, or involvement in, the marijuana cultivation.
Investigators were not aware of any links between the San Rafael pot operation and three others shut down recently in Marin.
Last week, county drug investigators arrested five suspects and seized more than 200 marijuana plants in a hillside residence on Indian Hills Drive in Novato. Police said the home was being used solely for marijuana cultivation and the suspects were expanding the operation into the basement. The investigation is continuing.
Five days earlier, a small fire in an unoccupied rental home on Chase Street in Novato revealed 100 pounds of dried marijuana stuffed into garbage bags in a laundry room, plus 75 marijuana plants and cultivation equipment. The home had no tenants at the time, and police are investigating who was tending the pot.
Last month, drug investigators shut down a sophisticated marijuana operation in a 3,000-square-foot home on Tamalpais Road in Fairfax. Two suspects were arrested and 900 potent marijuana plants were seized, plus cash and growing equipment.
Police said there is an ongoing pattern of Northern California homes being used specifically to cultivate marijuana. Indoor cultivation allows growers to harvest buds several times a year, not just during the peak outdoor growing season.
Copyright 2007 Marin Independent Journal, a MediaNews Group publication