Figure in Underground Pot Ring Pleads Guilty

A Woodland Hills man, described by authorities as a major distributor of marijuana grown in underground desert farms, pleaded guilty Friday to one felony drug charge in a plea bargain under which he is to receive a two-year state prison sentence, the prosecutor said.

Michael Kumar, 31, entered the plea in Antelope Municipal Court to one count of conspiracy to possess marijuana for sale and is scheduled to be sentenced March 6, Dep. Dist. Atty. Stephen Cooley said. Under the plea bargain, two other felony drug counts will be dismissed, Cooley said.

Kumar was arrested Nov. 30 at a Castaic motel after allegedly attempting to buy 30 pounds of marijuana for about $109,000 in a fake drug deal set up by sheriff’s investigators. He remained in custody Friday, although his bail was reduced from $1 million to $100,000, Cooley said.

Kumar was “a major distributor” of marijuana grown by a group that excavated sophisticated underground farms in Arizona and the Antelope Valley that were raided by sheriff’s deputies and federal drug agents last year, Cooley said. Two other people arrested with Kumar face court hearings on similar charges.