NET-5: Medical pot used as cover in Olivehurst bust

Guards with assault rifles had been protecting an Olivehurst garden where 262 marijuana seedlings were found, a drug enforcement official said Tuesday.

At about 7 a.m. Tuesday, the Yuba-Sutter Narcotic and Gang Enforcement Team, or NET-5, and the Yuba County Sheriff's Department raided the garden in the 1100 block of Ella Avenue and arrested the owners, twin brothers Kevin Sean Rhoades and Thomas Allen Rhoades, both 27, said NET-5 Cmdr. Mike Hudson.

Kevin Rhoades had a medical recommendation for 99 plants. But his wife, Noisha, and Thomas Rhoades did not have recommendations, putting the garden outside the scope of Proposition 215, or the Compassionate Use Act, Hudson said.

"This is a classic example of people using medicinal marijuana as a facade to cultivate and distribute marijuana for profit. It's nothing more than plain old drug dealing," he said.

"Every few months the brothers would harvest and replant their marijuana garden," Hudson said.

After seeing the brothers preparing a new crop, NET-5 obtained a search warrant and served it with the help of the Sheriff's Department SWAT team, Hudson said.

Guards armed with assault rifles had been watching over the previous crop of mature plants. They were not present Tuesday when the seedlings were found, he said.

Kevin and Noisha Rhoades were arrested on suspicion of cultivating marijuana and endangering their 6-month-old daughter, who was turned over to Yuba County Child Protective Services, he said.

The home smelled of urine and feces. Neither of two toilets worked, Hudson said.

"The inside was in disarray with dirty clothes and discarded items throughout," he said.

Thomas Rhoades was arrested for possession of a rifle with a silencer.

"The conditions of the residence and lifestyle the child was exposed to was no different than someone manufacturing and distributing methamphetamine," Hudson said.

CONTACT reporter Rob Young at 749-4784.