2 Men Arrested at Marijuana Patch Enter Not Guilty Pleas
Two men suspected of growing more than 1,000 marijuana plants in the Angeles National Forest pleaded not guilty Monday in federal court.
Jose Gutierrez and Ascuncion Gonzalez were arrested Nov. 6 after U.S. Forest Service rangers received an anonymous tip from a hunter that several acres of marijuana were being cultivated near the Upper Bear Canyon Trail, authorities said.
Assistant U.S. Atty. Dan Levin said Gutierrez was arrested at a campsite near one of the fields carrying 15 pounds of processed marijuana and a 9-millimeter handgun. Gonzalez was arrested as he returned to the campsite shortly after Gutierrez’s arrest.
The two men face charges of conspiracy, illegal cultivation of marijuana and use of a firearm during a drug trafficking offense.
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