Murder linked to busted pot farm, 14 arrested

BY COLBY FRAZIER
DAILY SOUND STAFF WRITER

A murder investigation that has spanned more than a month and sent Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s detectives chasing leads as far as Riverside County has led to the seizure of 800 pounds of processed marijuana, a small arsenal of firearms and 14 arrests, all of which is believed to be connected to the murder.
Speaking from a podium behind of a massive mound of marijuana, a table lined with hand guns and a stack of cash totaling $80,000, Sheriff Bill Brown updated reporters yesterday about the ongoing murder investigation and the increasing presence of illegal marijuana grows in Santa Barbara County’s back country.

His message was clear and blunt.
“These types of organizations will not be tolerated in our county,” he said. “Homicide investigations can often be the most complex, and they are certainly the most important... We have had some major developments recently and I felt it was important to share with the public the status of this investigation.”
The whirlwind investigation began at 4 a.m. on Sept. 17 when a driver on Highway 154 spotted the dead body of 23-year-old Adan Cervantes Ruiz wrapped in a sleeping bag.
Authorities say Ruiz died from a single gunshot wound to the chest. Brown said investigators determined Ruiz was shot at another location at around 8 p.m. the evening before his body was dumped near the town of Los Olivos.
When the body was discovered, Brown said there was evidence that the man could have been involved in an illegal marijuana growing operation and the investigation quickly fanned into a narcotics, homicide joint effort.
Seven days later on Sept. 24, Brown said detectives caught a break in the case while responding to a suspicious subject near Lompoc on Highway 1. During this investigation, he said a Sheriff’s Department air support crew spotted the largest illegal marijuana grow in the county’s history, which covered vast swaths of land on both sides of the highway.
“The discovery of the marijuana fields along Highway 1 not only resulted in the largest eradication in Santa Barbara County history, with over 90,000 plants destroyed at the value of approximately $275 million, but it also yielded another break for our homicide detectives,” Brown said.
During the three-day eradication effort, Brown said homicide detectives combed the area near the marijuana grow and eventually determined that Ruiz was shot and killed just off of Highway 1.
On Sept. 26, Brown said investigators arrested nine men believed to be connected to the illegal grow at a Motel 6 in Carpinteria. He said the suspects were all undocumented Mexican nationals and were turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials.
Before doing so, the men gave local investigators leads that indicated those responsible for the illegal grow near Lompoc and Ruiz’s death were in Riverside County in the cities of Perris, Murrieta and Lake Elsinore.
Brown said law enforcement began surveillance on several residences and people in Perris and on Oct. 20, Santa Barbara County Sheriff's investigators served three search warrants in Perris, which yielded the 800 pounds of marijuana, $80,000 in cash and firearms that were on display yesterday. The estimated value of the 800 pounds of seized marijuana is $2.6 million.
Brown said five men were arrested during the raid in Perris, including 21-year-old Reyes Cervantes Ruiz, the younger brother of the murder victim. Authorities also arrested Jesus Monje Gutierrez, 28, Efren Equijua Arreola, 37, Servando Avalos Cabrera, 20, and Jose Juan Villa Cabrera, 25, all living in Perris, where it is believed Ruiz had last resided.
Brown said Cervantes Ruiz reached for a gun during the arrest and had to be restrained. He said the younger Ruiz is believed to have been present when his older brother was murdered, but investigators have not yet determined the extent of his involvement.
Brown said all five men have been booked into Santa Barbara County Jail for the cultivation of marijuana and possession of the drug for sales.
Brown said none of the weapons seized during the arrests in Perris have been processed and it is not yet known if one of them is the murder weapon.
Brown highlighted the violent nature of the illegal growing operations and noted that the number of plants eradicated locally this year has been record breaking. While the exact number of plants seized in the county so far is tough to nail down, it exceeds 173,000 plants, worth more than a half-billion dollars. This number does not include the 800 pounds on display yesterday at Sheriff’s Headquarters or 100 pounds abandoned in the Santa Ynez Valley by growers after being discovered by a local rancher.
“It’s been a record year for marijuana eradication in Santa Barbara County,” Brown said. “We don’t suspect that this will end anytime soon. It’s a very lucrative enterprise.”
Brown said there is no reason to believe the illegal grow near Lompoc and the murder of Ruiz isn’t connected to other grows discovered throughout the county this summer, and admitted the grow in Lompoc is likely part of a large drug cartel operating out of Mexico.
“We do believe it is a cartel that is involved in this,” Brown said. “These aren’t people living out in the boondocks growing a couple plants, these are very sophisticated operations.”
Brown said the illegal grows often have complex irrigation systems and booby traps to keep people away. He said the influx of illegal grows has spiked since security was increased at the U.S.-Mexico border.
“These operations have continued to proliferate,” he said. “They’re actually moving in much closer than they have been in the past.”
The grow in Lompoc was located less than a mile from the highway and Brown said it was partially visible from the roadway. He also said investigators believe this is not the first year the Lompoc grow had produced a crop.
Brown urged hikers, ranchers or anyone who stumbles across an illegal grow to notify the Sheriff’s Department at 934-6170 or 681-4150.
“The murder of Adan Ruiz, regardless of his involvement with these illegal marijuana operations, illustrates the vicious nature of the persons involved in marijuana cultivation of this type,” Brown said. “Our dedication to the annual eradication efforts and our commitment to solve this homicide should send a message to these criminal organizations that these types of operations will not be tolerated in our county.”