Marijuana Grower Shot Dead by Mendocino Sheriff’s Using New Eradication Techniques

New Technique and Effort to Arrest Marijuana Growers leads to Death of 24 Year Old.

The new eradication technique employed by the Mendocino County Sheriffs Department, in which groups of armed deputies “infiltrate” suspected marijuana gardens in the middle of the night led to the death of a young man in his 20′s, who was tending a marijuana garden on US Forest Service land east of Covelo in North Eastern Mendocino County.The victim has been identified as Angel Hernandez Farias, 24. For over 3 decades Mendocino County Sheriff’s Dept. eradicated marijuana gardens using techniques such as a helicoptor circling that alerted growers to their presence, this gave growers an opportunity to run instead of be caught by surprise as well as providing a safer entry into the Garden for deputies… not any more. In an increased effort to catch and hold those responsible for marijuana gardens, the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Dept has began sending secret “black ops” reconnaissance teams who are armed with fully Automatic Weapons into these sights in the Middle of the night to ‘wait out” the growers who normally arrive in the Early Morning hours to tend their crops.

The man has since been identified but no identification was found on the man but the Sheriff Dept was quick to claim the man was “hispanic”, again adding more fuel to the racially propagated “Mexican Marijuana Cartels” taking over Mendocino fear, which has been propagated over and over by our Sheriff’s Dept. in the local press. Everybody in Mendocino knows that most spanish Marijuana workers are not part of a spanish cartel, but rather part of  white ranchers work crews. Still, the Sheriff, by claiming “mexican cartels” are taking over, garners a certain amount of community support in a time when the war on marijuana has very little American Support.

According to the Sheriff Dept., an eight man team including three Mendocino County Sheriff Deputies, a canine dog,and officers from the US Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management arrived at the Marijuana Garden in the dark “before dawn” (secret black ops style). Instead of using the decades old technique where helicopters alert growers to the presence of eradication teams, these men came in in the middle of the night to “wait out” growers, this is what led to the young mans death.

About 6:45 am an allegedly “hispanic male in his 20′s” was seen walking into one of the large gardens with another man. According to Sheriff Deputies, the man allegedly carried a rifle, whether the gun was actually pointed at the deputies remains unknown with conflicting stories . What happened next was unthinkable under any former Sheriff in Mendocino County, one of the Mendocino County Deputies fired a fatal shot at the young man who took off in chase, the man whose identity has not been released ran about thirty yards before being attacked by the Canine dog and brought down. The deputies claimed to render Medical Aide on sight, but the man died from the fatal shot. The officer who shot the man was also involved in another shooting in 1989. The officer was taken from the sight  and will be put on paid leave.

The Mendocino County District Attorney and the Department of Justice office will aide in the white wash…. er uh investigation, so as with all Sheriff Deputies who shoot to kill, no charges are expected against the officer.

Community in an Uproar

The Mendocino Community is in an uproar over this unnecessary  murder. Why is the Mendocino Sheriff sending out clandestine teams of  armed men in the middle of the night, clad in full camouflage gear, armed with fully automatic assault rifles to eradicate simple marijuana gardens?  Who made the decision to perform these clandestine “Blackwater CIA” style raids on our local growers? How many 20 year old kids will be shot when caught by surprise by unannounced men wearing camouflage and military fatigues. Of course there is the question as to whether the man actually leveled or pointed the gun at deputies, but we all know these officers will stick together and get their story straight, ensuring no charges will be brought against the shooter or the leader of the black ops operation in which a civilian were killed.

Badge of Oppression?

~ by Ganja Farmer's Emerald Triangle News on July 29, 2010.