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Investigators found more than three-hundred marijuana plants on site. Tuesday afternoon, the tops of several marijuana plants were still visible behind the property just outside Dinuba.
Following Monday's shooting, investigators discovered a total of 316 plants, accompanied by the proper medical marijuana permits.
Chris Douglass said, "It hasn't been determined whether or not it's in relation to the marijuana garden itself but Ramirez was staying at that particular site, the marijuana garden and tended it."
Tulare County deputies last visited this marijuana grow back in May. They say, while it meets California state law standards, it breaks the county's medical marijuana ordinance. "The county ordinance is specific to it being in a commercial location, and it has to have a roof and walls and be secure and people are not doing that."
The Tulare County Sheriff's narcotics team has been busy this year with illegal grows. Last year, they found 240 of them. This year, that number has doubled. "The county has a specific ordinance and unfortunately, we have a lot of people who are using the California law and kinda manipulating it a little."
And that manipulation has led to criminal activity all over the Valley. Last September, a 17-year-old boy was shot and later died after he was caught stealing pot from a farm in Lindsay. And just one week before that incident, a 40-year-old man was shot and killed while trying to steal marijuana from an outdoor garden down near Central Fresno's Roeding Park.
