Merced County deputies discover illegal marijuana grow, while helping homeless families

Deputies located an illegal marijuana grow in the Merced area this week, while relocating two homeless families, according to the Merced County Sheriff’s Office.

The Merced County Sheriff’s Office Sheriff Enforcement Team, or SET, assisted Merced County Code Enforcement in helping the families, who had been living in vehicles, find temporary housing in the 1000 block of Henry Street on Tuesday.

While there, deputies located an outbuilding on the property, and suspected it had been converted to illegally cultivate marijuana, according to a Sheriff’s Office Facebook post.

After obtaining a search warrant, deputies located an operation for cultivating marijuana capable of producing 50 to 75 plants every 60 days, authorities said.

Deputies seized 50 mature plants from the location and PG&E was contacted to shut down electricity to the property after deputies discovered a power pole had been tampered with, according to the post.

The Sheriff’s Office said it asked Merced County Code Enforcement Building and Safety Division and Merced County Environmental Health services to evaluate the property.

This story was originally published February 20, 2020 at 7:10 PM.