Over 5,000 Pounds of Marijuana Seized at Menifee Property

MENIFEE (CNS) – More than 5,000 pounds of cannabis illegally cultivated in the backyard of a Menifee home was seized and the property owner arrested during a law enforcement raid that uncovered some of the product loaded into the back of a truck, authorities said Wednesday. The raid was conducted mid-afternoon Tuesday in the 29000 block of Watson Road, near Menifee Road, according to the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office. Andres Gonzalez, 42, was arrested at the site on suspicion of illegal cultivation of marijuana, conspiracy to commit a felony and child endangerment. He was released on his own recognizance. The Riverside County Cannabis Regulation Task Force served a search warrant at the property after procuring evidence that an illegal grow was in operation, according to the District Attorney’s Office. The agency said 550 pounds of processed weed was seized in and around the home, as well as 4,600 pounds of product piled into dozens of trash bags stacked floor to ceiling in the back of a U-Haul moving truck. All of the cannabis, which will be destroyed, was being grown within a fenced area to the rear of the primary residence, authorities said. It was not immediately known how long the grow had been there. No commercial cannabis cultivation operations have been licensed in Menifee, or in any unincorporated communities within Riverside County. The task force has been conducting raids on a regular basis, mostly in the western region. The unit consists of District Attorney’s Office investigators, sheriff’s deputies, code enforcement officers and law enforcement personnel from multiple cities.