SDSU Professor Held in Raid on Pot Farm

A San Diego State University professor was among three people arrested Thursday and charged with growing about 700 marijuana plants worth about $750,000 on his 50-acre ranch in Jamul, drug agents said.

Jack David Mooers, 57, a professor of education at SDSU, was arrested at 7 a.m. when about 25 agents from the Narcotics Task Force descended on the isolated ranch at 19225 Deerhorn Valley Road, said San Diego Police Lt. Skip DeCerchio. Agents also found an underground drying room, where Mooers and his accomplices were allegedly packaging the drug in pound bags.

SDSU spokesman George Cole said Mooers has taught at the university since 1968 and is listed as a part-time professor of education who is not scheduled to teach again until the spring semester. According to Cole, Mooers helped prepare classes for future teachers. Mooers’ resume shows that he earned a bachelor’s degree from San Jose State University, master’s degree from SDSU and a doctorate from UCLA, Cole said.

Mooers told arresting officers that he also worked as a California Highway Patrol officer and parole officer for the California Youth Authority before becoming a teacher, DeCerchio said. But spokesmen for the CHP and CYA parole offices in Sacramento said they have no record of Mooers ever working for them.

Mooers’ wife, Betty, 65, who is reported to be a real estate agent, was not charged, DeCerchio said. The Mooerses were identified as the owners of the ranch, which is in an unincorporated area southeast of San Diego. Betty Mooers said she once worked as a civilian employee for the San Diego Police Department, but police officials were unable to confirm that Thursday.

The others arrested were James Wesley Johnson, 44, who was identified as Jack Mooers’ half-brother, and Bartolo Espinoza Mercado, 36, a laborer on the ranch, authorities said. The three men were jailed at the Metropolitan Correctional Center and were charged with conspiracy to cultivate and distribute marijuana, which are federal counts.

In addition to the marijuana plants, which were about 8 feet tall, agents also seized four Mercedes-Benzes, four Porsches, an assortment of trucks and four-wheel-drive vehicles, and construction equipment, said DeCerchio.

“They had an assortment of toys you wouldn’t believe,” said DeCerchio.

Agents stumbled upon the marijuana field about two weeks ago when they were investigating a methamphetamine lab nearby. The emerald green plants were spotted in a dry, rocky ravine by San Diego County sheriff’s deputies in a helicopter, said DeCerchio. Narcotics officers obtained a search warrant and raided the ranch Thursday morning.

Mooers and the others had set up a sophisticated drip irrigation system that used a nearby well to water the marijuana plants, DeCerchio said. The plants were growing in a narrow ravine, next to an orchard, agents said.

Mooers is believed to have sold the drug locally, said DeCerchio, but no charges have been brought for drug sales. Authorities do not know how long marijuana has been cultivated on the land. The area is fairly rugged and isolated and is known as a haven for clandestine methamphetamine labs.