SACRAMENTO- On November 17, 2022,  a federal grand jury returned a three-count indictment against Jaime Alejandro Sanchez Robles, 33, of Mexico, charging him with conspiracy to manufacture marijuana, the manufacture of marijuana, and depredation of public lands and resources.

According to court documents, on Oct. 20, 2022, law enforcement officers went to a marijuana growing operation in a remote area of the Shasta-Trinity National Forest located in Trinity County. At the grow, agents observed that water was actively being diverted from a nearby stream, and they found the remnants of more than 1,200 pounds of soluble fertilizer, 20 gallons of liquid fertilizer, more than 50 pounds of rodenticide, and at least one dead animal. Law enforcement officers eradicated 1,708 marijuana plants and arrested Sanchez Robles.

This case is the product of an investigation by the U.S. Forest Service, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the Trinity County Sheriff’s Office. Integral Ecology Research Center, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the research and conservation of wildlife and their ecosystems, analyzed and documented the environmental damage.

If convicted, Sanchez Robles faces a maximum statutory penalty of life in prison and a $10 million fine.