Ventura County Sheriff's Department

Location: Matilija Canyon, Ojai
Date: May 22, 2009
Unit Responsible: Special Services Bureau / Narcotics Unit

Suspects, City of residence, Age
Doroteo Hernandez, Rialto, 30
Carmelo Hernandez, Rialto, 34
Custodio Ramirez, Lancaster, 34

In April of this year, Sheriff’s narcotics detectives discovered two large marijuana cultivation sites in Matilija Canyon above the city of Ojai. One site, located south of Matilija Lake, was being used as a nursery where several hundred seedlings were found. The second site was found approximately 3 miles west of the entrance to the canyon and one mile south of Matilija Canyon Road.

On May 15, detectives were conducting surveillance of Matilija Canyon Road and Highway 33 and witnessed a vehicle stop at the Cozy Dell Trailhead. Two subjects ran from the brush and got into the rear of the vehicle. The vehicle then sped away. The vehicle was stopped and through the subsequent investigation, it was determined the two subjects and the driver were involved with the marijuana growing sites in Matilija Canyon. All three were arrested for conspiracy to cultivate marijuana. Detectives believe the three subjects were responsible for supplying those in the gardens with equipment and other necessary supplies. All three were booked into the Sheriff’s Main Jail.

On May 22, members of the Sheriff’s Narcotics Unit, Sheriff’s Air Unit, United States Forest Service, and the California Department of Fish and Game eradicated both sites, destroying 11,100, 6”-12”, marijuana plants. Typical with drug trafficking organization’s marijuana gardens, the landscape had been altered by terracing the hillsides, diverting water supplies to the multiple growing locations, and the spread of trash, fertilizer, and camping equipment throughout the canyon. No additional suspects were located. The estimated value of the marijuana plants is over $16,000,000.00