Deputies bust large indoor marijuana grow near Atwater

A 20-year-old man was arrested this week after Merced County Sheriff’s deputies busted an indoor marijuana grow of around 1,425 plants near Atwater.

Victor Farias Aguilar, 20, was taken into custody after Sgt. Kevin Blake and the STAR Team served a search warrant Tuesday at the residence in the 2500 block of Valley Drive off Ashby Road, according to Deputy Delray Shelton.

Deputies forced entry and discovered the indoor grow in the four bedroom home. During the search deputies also found a semi-automatic handgun.

Deputies also learned from PG&E the occupants of the home had bypassed the home’s electrical system, amounting to a utility theft of around $4,000 a month.

Farias was booked into the Merced County Jail on suspicion of cultivating marijuana, but has already bailed out.

— Sun-Star staff