Merced County deputies bust illegal weed site. Then they found all the roosters

Deputies busted up an illegal marijuana cultivation site this week and took more than 100 birds believed to be used in cockfighting, the Merced County Sheriff's Office said on Thursday.

The Merced County Sheriff’s Office Marijuana Enforcement Team went to a home in the 7700 block of Sycamore Street in Delhi about 8 a.m. on Wednesday. No one was there, deputies said, but a barn contained 210 "high quality indoor marijuana plants."

The home's backyard held 120 roosters believed to be used in illegal cock fights, according to the sheriff's office. The house had been under surveillance for "weeks," according to Sgt. Ray Framstad.

The same home has been searched three times in as many years, Framstad said. The grow of that size could produce more than 78 pounds of high quality bud every 60 days, according to Framstad, or about 472 pounds a year.

The product would be worth about $2,000 a pound, Framstad said

The sheriff's office will be "enforcing the cultivation laws regarding marijuana that the county has put in place starting in 2018," Sheriff Vern Warnke said in a news release.

All outdoor marijuana grows are illegal in Merced County, and will be "dealt with immediately and prosecuted to the full extent of the law," according to the sheriff's office. Adults are only allowed to grow six plants and they must be indoors.

If you have questions about the laws regarding cultivation and possession of marijuana, call the sheriff’s office at 209-385-7445.

This story was originally published January 25, 2018 at 2:26 PM with the headline "Merced County deputies bust illegal weed site. Then they found all the roosters."