Two arrested in alleged pot-growing operation

One of two alleged marijuana growers captured by police late Tuesday night was armed with a loaded rifle when caught tending about 1,300 plants hidden in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest, police say.

Arrested at the remote scene in Skamania County, on suspicion of growing marijuana with intent to deliver, were Manuel C. Granados, 51, and Jose G. Perez, 36, both of White Salmon, according to a bulletin from the Clark County Sheriff’s Office.

The suspects were arrested at the growing operation west of Trout Lake. They were booked at the Skamania County Jail in Stevenson with bail initially set at $250,000 each, officials said.

On Wednesday, detectives with the Clark-Skamania Drug Task Force removed the 1,300 plants with the help of deputies with the Skamania County Sheriff’s Office and Hood River, Ore., County Sheriff’s Office. The plants were in various stages of development and had a potential value of $1.5 million if sold on the street, the bulletin said.

Officials said Wednesday evening they didn’t yet know whether the suspects are in the U.S. legally. Perez also was being held for arrest warrants, issued in other areas, charging DUI and negligent driving.

A citizen provided a tip about the grow and detectives with the drug task force investigated. The probe is continuing.

Because illegal marijuana growers who hide their operations in public forests often are armed, as in this case, police are warning folks who accidentally find them to be careful and notify local police, the bulletin said.

In a similar case in Oregon on Wednesday morning, Jackson County Sheriff’s Office deputies shot and killed an armed man in a raid of an alleged Mexican cartel’s outdoor marijuana growing operation, according to a bulletin from the Oregon State Police.