5 workers sought after owner of California marijuana farm is found beaten to death

A manhunt is underway for five marijuana plant trimmers who are suspected of robbing and fatally beating the operator of a pot farm in California’s “Emerald Triangle” last week, authorities said.

The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office has asked law enforcement agencies to look out for four men and a woman wanted in the killing of Jeffrey Quinn Settler.

They are: Zachary Ryan Wuester, 24, of Haskell, N.J.; Frederick Gaestel, 27, of Clifton, N.J.; Gary Blank III, of Elgin, Ill.; Gary Lynn Fitz, 23, of Roanoke, Ill., and Amanda Weist, 26, of Fairfax, Va.

Authorities think they fled south or out of state.

The killing was reported about 3:39 p.m. Thursday on a rural property in the 49000 block of North Highway 101 in Laytonville, about five miles from Highway 101, according to Sgt. Andrew Porter.

When deputies arrived they found Settler dead from injuries suffered in “what appeared to be a violent assault,” Porter said in a statement.

Settler, a 35-year-old native of Bethel Island, Calif., was running a commercial marijuana operation on the remote grounds.

Authorities think Settler was killed early Thursday as the fugitives stole marijuana that had already been processed for sale.

The suspects had been hired by Settler to trim marijuana plants and buds, and knew where Settler slept and where the marijuana was stored, according to Porter.

After stealing more than 100 pounds of marijuana, the suspects fled in at least two vehicles. One of the vehicles is a blue, 2017 Volkswagen Golf with a Virginia license plate number, VHR5611.

Anyone with information about the suspects is urged to call the Sheriff’s Office Investigative Services Unit at (707) 463-4421 or the tip line at (707) 234-2100.

veronica.rocha@latimes.com

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