2 arrested, four children turned over to CPS in Merced County marijuana and guns bust

An anonymous tip led investigators on Tuesday morning to a small rural farmhouse on the southern outskirts of Delhi where they found hundreds of marijuana plants, at least three “assault rifles” and four children, including two under the age of 8.

The father and mother of a 2-year-old girl and a 7-year-old boy were arrested at the home on Hoskins Road, just north of the Merced River, according to Sgt. Ray Framstad of the Merced County Sheriff’s Office.

Two other minors, a girl and a boy, both 17, also were turned over to Child Protective Services. The teenagers were described by deputies as “cousins” of the other children.

Investigators identified the parents of the young children as Arnahi Martinez, 33, and Denise Parra, 25. They were arrested on a string of allegations including child endangerment, utilities theft, cultivation of marijuana, and possession of marijuana for sale, deputies said.

Framstad said the presence of “assault weapons” and children was particularly troubling.

“People working on these types of grows are armed typically when they’re going to and from the grow site or in and out (of the site) for their own protection because marijuana has a high value,” he said. “The sheriff wants us focused on protecting the community, protecting children to prevent situations like we had in Beachwood.”

There have been at least two deadly shootouts in the Beachwood/Franklin area of unincorporated Merced during the last two years.

A 35-year-old man was shot and killed Oct. 20, 2015, during a gunfight at a grow house on Maple Street, the result, investigators said of a “drug deal gone bad.” A marijuana robbery led to a shootout March 14, 2016, in the 3100 block of Franklin Road that left a 29-year-old man dead.

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“It’s cause for alarm when someone feels they need assault rifles to protect their product and they’re still willing to subject their children, subject their families to that kind of danger,” Sheriff Vern Warnke said Tuesday.

At least two unidentified men ran from the home when investigators arrived at the home on Hoskins Road on Tuesday. They were not captured.

According to Framstad, when deputies arrived Tuesday at the home they spotted Martinez “coming out of a processing shed carrying about 50 pounds of clipped marijuana buds.” Deputies also found 111 large plastic bags each containing one pound of marijuana buds, along with about 150 “mature plants” and another 300 “small clones ready to be planted.”

Investigators also found about 30 pounds of plants hanging from clotheslines drying, along with nearly $4,000 in cash. The house and surrounding area including multiple grow rooms and several rooms used to clip and prepare the plants.

This story was originally published June 13, 2017 at 2:48 PM with the headline "2 arrested, four children turned over to CPS in Merced County marijuana and guns bust."