2 Arrested, 600 Pot Plants Seized at Storage Facility

Two men were arrested Thursday on suspicion of cultivating more than 600 marijuana plants in an elaborate setup inside a Santa Ana storage facility, authorities said.

Gregory Stefanik, 26, of Newport Beach and Andrew Aguilera, 28, of Chino Hills were arrested at 8:30 a.m. at Electric Farm Industrial Park on East McFadden Avenue, police said.

Aguilera, who had an outstanding arrest warrant on a year-old charge of cultivating marijuana, was inside the facility at the time, tending to the plants, Orange Police Lt. Art Romo said.

Orange police are handling the case because an anonymous tip about the operation several months ago was directed to them.

Officers with search warrants also went to four other Santa Ana locations Thursday, seizing about 700 marijuana plants at a location on South Orange Avenue but making no arrests.

The 4,000-square-foot storage space on East McFadden had been rented to Aguilera and Stefanik for the past two years for use as an auto detailing shop, officials said. The marijuana plants, in different stages of growth, were confiscated from 12 trailers, each 25 feet long, Romo said.

The cultivation system was quite complicated, Romo said, “the most sophisticated I have ever seen.”

The trailers, which held about 60 plants each, were equipped with ventilation systems, bright lights, heating systems complete with thermostats, and water pumps for hydroponic growth. Romo said the cultivation system was yielding a 60-pound crop of high-grade marijuana every 12 weeks with a value of $300,000.

Stefanik and Aguilera also are suspected of circumventing electric meters to steal more than $150,000 worth of electricity from Southern California Edison to power their cultivation system, Romo said.

The two men are being held at the Orange County Jail pending arraignment.

Authorities are seeking at least two more individuals in connection with the case, Romo said.