Illegal Forest Grow Resulted In Eight Year Prison Sentence
Sonora, CA – A Modesto man arrested for an illegal marijuana grow in the Stanislaus National Forest was sentenced to more than eight years in prison.
U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced that last week, 30-year-old Jose Garcia-Zamora was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Thurston to eight years and four months in prison for illegally cultivating marijuana in the Stanislaus National Forest and possessing a firearm in furtherance of that offense.
Court documents detailed that in July 2019, law enforcement agents found a large marijuana grow with over 2,600 pot plants. At the grow site, agents found Garcia-Zamora tending to the marijuana. He was also carrying a loaded pistol and was arrested. This April, Garcia-Zamora pled guilty to the charges.
The U.S. Forest Service was the lead agency in the investigation.