By Greg Welter
Chico Enterprise-Record
PULGA, Calif. — A man suspected of tending an illegal marijuana grow Tuesday morning near Highway 70 reportedly tried to remove a handgun from the holster of a deputy taking him into custody.
The suspect, Humberto Lepe-Cervantes, 25, of Jalisco, Mexico, grabbed the firearm, but was quickly subdued, a press release stated.
No other suspects were located. The deputy wasn’t immediately identified. Deputies from the Butte County Sheriff’s Office Special Enforcement Unit were able to enter the grow, near the Cresta Powerhouse, undetected, as agents with the U.S. Forest Service took up positions outside the garden.
The SEU and Forest Service searched the site for evidence and found multiple camp sites, one main kitchen area, an abandoned kitchen, and two marijuana processing areas with a scale, packaging materials and drying racks. A total of 6,018 mature marijuana plants and 550 pounds of processed marijuana was removed.
Lepe-Cervantes was booked into Butte County Jail in Oroville on numerous charges.
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