Big pot operation busted

Police on Wednesday uncovered a large-scale indoor marijuana-growing operation in the Tierra Buena section of Yuba City, believed to be the first of its kind found in the area.

Officers from the Yuba-Sutter Narcotic Enforcement Team, or NET-5, and the Yuba City Police Department raided two houses next door to each other in the 2700 block of Billie Ann Drive at about 10:30 a.m. and reportedly found 550 marijuana plants in various stages of maturity.

NET-5 Commander Mike Hudson called it a $1-million-per-year wholesale growing operation, complete with 1,000-watt halogen lights and a system of ducts to carry off excess heat and odors.

Setting up the growing operation "took more than a layman's knowledge" of electricity, which was obtained by bypassing a PG&E meter, he said.

A resident of one of the houses, 40-year-old Tori Michele Stohlman, was arrested on suspicion of cultivating marijuana. She owns both houses, according to Hudson.

Randy Breceda, a neighbor who moved into the neighborhood about a year ago, said he didn't know Stohlman well but would see her mowing her lawn occasionally.

"It was a shock to everyone," he said when reached by phone Wednesday evening. "A total surprise. Absolutely, it's a concern."

Officers had a warrant to search the houses. Hudson declined to say how police learned about the growing operation.

"This affects many pound-level dealers and a lot of wholesalers," he said of the bust.

Hudson estimated the growing operation was at least a year old.

The neighborhood is normally low-crime, according to Yuba City officers who took over patrolling the area this year from the Sutter County Sheriff's Department.

Although the house at 2724 Billie Ann Drive looks normal from the outside, all windows were boarded up on the inside. A caretaker who apparently was staying there was still being sought.

"We never saw any foot traffic, but the blinds were always shut. It was kind of odd," Breceda said.

A loaded .45-caliber handgun was found in the house.

Despite the interior ducts, officers could smell the high-quality sensamilla - or seedless - marijuana from outside when they arrived, said Hudson.

Mature plants were very sticky and had 10-inch flowers, indicating a high content of THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, he said.

The plants were being grown hydroponically in Grodan, a synthetic growing medium.

In the house at 2744 Billie Ann Drive occupied by Stohlman and her boyfriend, cuttings from mature plants with varietal names including God's Gift and Granddaddy's Rip were being used to start new plants.

Stohlman was arrested without incident. Her boyfriend, James Keith Fletcher, was arrested at his Sacramento auto repair business, Force Fed Performance. Kyle Leonard of Citrus Heights, believed to be the electrician who set up the operation, was arrested along with Stohlman, said Hudson.

All three are facing cultivation charges and, because of the amount of marijuana involved, could end up being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Sacramento, he said.

Stohlman was soon released on bail from the Sutter County Jail and had to be "shooed away" when she returned to her house, said Hudson.

A number of houses devoted solely to growing marijuana have recently been found in Sacramento. Indoor operations are becoming more common as growers try to avoid detection, he said.

Plants grown indoors usually are of higher quality, said Hudson.

Reporter Rob Young can be reached at 749-4710 or ryoung@ appealdemocrat.com. Internet news editor Steve Nelson contributed to this report.