2 Men Arrested at Marijuana Patch Enter Not Guilty Pleas
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Two men suspected of growing more than 1,000 marijuana plants in the Angeles National Forest pleaded not guilty Monday in federal court.
Jose Gutierrez and Ascuncion Gonzalez were arrested Nov. 6 after U.S. Forest Service rangers received an anonymous tip from a hunter that several acres of marijuana were being cultivated near the Upper Bear Canyon Trail, authorities said.
Assistant U.S. Atty. Dan Levin said Gutierrez was arrested at a campsite near one of the fields carrying 15 pounds of processed marijuana and a 9-millimeter handgun. Gonzalez was arrested as he returned to the campsite shortly after Gutierrez’s arrest.
The two men face charges of conspiracy, illegal cultivation of marijuana and use of a firearm during a drug trafficking offense.
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