Ten-Year Sentences Handed Down to Men Who Grew Marijuana in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest

MADISON, WI—John W. Vaudreuil, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Cesar Tinoco, 21, Abraham Ramirez, 29, and Jorge Lopez-Ontiveros, 25, all citizens of Mexico, were each sentenced this week by U.S. District Judge Barbara B. Crabb to 10 years in federal prison for their involvement in a conspiracy to manufacture marijuana in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forrest during 2011. All three men pleaded guilty to the conspiracy charge in November of 2011.

Evidence summarized by the government at the plea hearings established that Tinoco, Ramirez and Lopez-Ontiveros were apprehended in early August 2011 along with Jose Esqueda-Garcia, 19, of Mexico, Moises Lopez-Ontiveros, 21, of Mexico, and Norberto Burciaga, 40, of St. Paul, Minnesota, after the marijuana grow they tended in the forest was raided by more than 200 law enforcement officers from over a dozen different local, state, and federal agencies. The grow location had initially been discovered in November of 2010 by hunters who reported the find to police. Police monitored the area in 2011 to determine if persons involved in the grow would return to use the area again. After months of monitoring and surveillance, law enforcement officers raided the campsite of the suspected growers and seized over 9,400 marijuana plants that had been planted, fertilized, and watered by the men. Initially, four of the five men at the camp eluded capture until the following day when Burciaga arrived from Minnesota to pick them up. Sawyer County deputies observed Burciaga’s truck, which investigators were familiar with based on the surveillance over the summer, and stopped it as it headed back toward Minnesota, apprehending Burciaga and four of the suspects who had fled and stayed in the forest overnight.

The three remaining defendants, Norberto Burciaga, 40, St. Paul, Minn., Jose Esqueda-Garcia, 19, Mexico, and Moises Lopez-Ontiveros, 21, Mexico, will be sentenced within the next two weeks.

The charges against the defendants were the result of an investigation by the Wisconsin Department of Justice-Division of Criminal Investigation; Ashland County Sheriff’s Department; Drug Enforcement Administration; U.S. Forest Service; Federal Bureau of Investigation; Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources; Northwest Area Crime Unit (comprised of Sawyer, Douglas and Washburn County Sheriffs’ Departments and Superior Police Department); U.S. Customs and Border Protection; and Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission. The prosecution of the case has been handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert A. Anderson.

Three Plead Guilty to Manufacturing Marijuana; Three Others Expected to Plead Guilty This Week

Defendants Arrested Following Discovery of Grow Operation in National Forest in Northern Wisconsin

MADISON, WI—John W. Vaudreuil, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Jorge Lopez-Ontiveros, 24, and Abraham Ramirez, 29, citizens of Mexico, pleaded guilty yesterday in U.S. District Court in Madison to charges of conspiring to manufacture marijuana. Cesar Tinoco, 21, also of Mexico, pleaded guilty to the conspiracy charge on November 23, 2011. All three men, as well as three additional co-conspirators who are scheduled to plead later this week, were apprehended in connection with a grow operation of over 9,000 marijuana plants in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest located about six miles south of Clam Lake, Wis.

U.S. District Judge Barbara B. Crabb scheduled sentencing for Tinoco on January 31, Ramirez on February 1, and Lopez-Ontiveros on February 2, 2012. Each of the defendants face a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life.

During the plea hearings, Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert A. Anderson described how Tinoco, Ramirez and Lopez Ontiveros were apprehended in early August along with Jose Esqueda-Garcia, 19, of Mexico, Moises Lopez-Ontiveros, 21, of Mexico, and Norberto Burciaga, 40, of St. Paul, Minn., after the marijuana grow was raided by over 200 law enforcement officers from over a dozen different local, state and federal agencies.

The grow location had initially been discovered in November 2010 by hunters who reported the find to police. Police monitored the area in 2011 to determine if persons involved in the grow would return to use the area again. After months of monitoring and surveillance, law enforcement officers from the Wisconsin Department of Justice, Division of Criminal Investigation; Ashland County Sheriff’s Department; Drug Enforcement Administration; U.S. Forest Service; Federal Bureau of Investigation; Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources; Northwest Area Crime Unit (comprised of Sawyer, Douglas and Washburn County Sheriffs’ Departments and Superior Police Department); U.S. Customs and Border Protection; and Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission raided the campsite of the suspected growers and seized over 9,000 marijuana plants that were being grown and tended by the men.

Four of the five men at the camp eluded capture until the following day when Burciaga arrived from Minnesota to pick them up. Sawyer County deputies observed the Burciaga truck and stopped it as it headed back toward Minnesota, apprehending four of the suspects who had fled and stayed in the forest overnight.

United States Attorney Vaudreuil stated, “The message from these prosecutions should be very clear: if you use public land for a marijuana manufacturing business, be prepared to serve very long sentences in federal prison.”

Large Marijuana Grow Operation on U.S. Forest Land Eradicated

One Man Arrested and Four Others Sought; Will Face Federal Drug Charges

MADISON, WI—John W. Vaudreuil, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that a large marijuana grow operation located in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest in Ashland County, Wis., was eradicated today. One individual was arrested at the scene, and four others are at large. The marijuana grow involved thousands of plants over a several-acre area approximately 25 miles northwest of Park Falls, Wis. Law enforcement was alerted to its presence by a tip from a hunter in November 2010.

Approximately 175 federal, state, and local law enforcement agents were involved in today’s operation, which involved the removal of the marijuana plants and the processing of the site for evidence. An evaluation of the scene indicated that the grow operation has been active for some time. The site included a campsite for individuals who cultivated the grow operation. Loaded firearms were found at the campsite.

Law enforcement officials are asking any members of the public who see suspicious individuals in the area to contact the Ashland County Sheriff’s Office at 715- 685-7640.

Any individuals who are arrested in connection with this grow operation will be charged by the U.S. Attorney’s Office with manufacturing marijuana.

“Unfortunately, there are criminals who take advantage of the remote and heavily wooded nature of our national forests to cultivate marijuana on a large-scale basis. Visitors to U.S. forest land who come upon marijuana grow operations should leave the area immediately and report their observations to law enforcement authorities,” United States Attorney Vaudreuil said.

The investigation of this matter is being conducted by the Wisconsin Department of Justice - Division of Criminal Investigation; Ashland County Sheriff’s Department; Drug Enforcement Administration; U.S. Forest Service; Federal Bureau of Investigation; Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources; Northwest Area Crime Unit (comprised of Sawyer, Douglas and Washburn County Sheriffs’ Departments and Superior Police Department); U.S. Customs and Border Protection; and Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission. The prosecution of the case will be handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert A. Anderson.

The U.S. Forest Service will lead a field tour of the area for members of the media once it is cleared of all evidence. This is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, August 23. For further information, please contact Suzanne Flory, Public Affairs Officer for the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, at 715-362-1354 (office) or 715-493-5667 (cell).