“California law enforcement officers are working to protect public land and the environment by investigating illegal marijuana grows in our forests and parks.  In addition, clearing out these illegal grows increases public safety.” – CSLEA President Alan Barcelona

SACRAMENTO- On July 22, 2021, Filemon Padilla Martinez, 56, of Mexico, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for conspiring to manufacture marijuana and depredation of federal lands. Martinez was also ordered to pay $24,778 in restitution.

According to court documents, Padilla Martinez conspired with three co-defendants to grow marijuana in the Tomhead Mountain area in Shasta-Trinity National Forest. Padilla Martinez recruited, trained, and supplied two of these co-defendants, whom he left to live and work on the site while he stayed either at a nearby stash house or at his residence in Ione. The marijuana grow on Tomhead Mountain consisted of 1,054 marijuana plants.

This case is the product of an investigation by the U.S. Forest Service, the Tehama County Sheriff’s Department, and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife with assistance from the Amador County Sheriff’s Office and the California Department of Justice.

Oscar Francisco-Diego and Francisco Gomez Sanchez, two of Padilla Martinez’s co-defendants, have been previously sentenced for their role in the conspiracy. Timothy Charles Wilson, the remaining co-defendant, is currently pending trial.