3 Held in Pot Raids Plead Not Guilty

Three men accused of growing nearly 1,800 marijuana plants in homes in Chatsworth and Agua Dulce pleaded not guilty Friday to cultivation charges.

Victor Paul Dejoria, 53, of Canoga Park, Wayne Anthony Iannola, 35, of Northridge, and David Joseph Clark, 40, of Agua Dulce were arraigned in Los Angeles Municipal Court. A preliminary hearing was scheduled for Oct. 1.

Dejoria and Iannola were each being held in lieu of $250,000 bail, and Clark was held on $50,000 bail in Men’s Central Jail in downtown Los Angeles, a jail spokeswoman said.

Victor Dejoria’s wife, Linda Rae Dejoria, 54, also was arrested Wednesday but was released shortly before midnight the same day pending further investigation, said Sheriff’s Sgt. Susan Cross. No charges have been filed against Linda Dejoria.

Victor Dejoria was convicted in 1993, authorities said, of growing about 1,000 marijuana plants in two greenhouses in a home he rented with his wife in Malibu. It was described as the largest indoor pot farm in county history at that time.

Despite that, Dejoria served only 90 days in County Jail.

Iannola was arrested last December and subsequently convicted of growing 500 marijuana plants. He was sentenced to probation, said Sheriff’s Det. Craig Husbands.

“It’s the nature of our society that thinks marijuana isn’t really that bad,” Husbands said.

Clark had limited experience growing marijuana and was learning from Dejoria, Husbands said.

Authorities have estimated the worth of the marijuana plants seized by sheriff’s officials on Wednesday to be more than $20 million.

A six-bedroom house in the 23300 block of Needles Street in Chatsworth was found packed with 1,669 marijuana plants, from inch-high cuttings to stalks 5 feet tall, authorities said. Irrigation pipes pumped water up and down stairs, and growing lights heated the rooms, some as hot as 100 degrees.

Another 100 plants were found the same day in a house in Agua Dulce where authorities say Clark lives.

Drying marijuana leaves and more than $150,000 in cash were found in homes in Canoga Park and Northridge, which are believed to be connected to the same pot-growing operation, authorities said.