A Kern County man was sentenced to 12 years in prison Friday for his role in an illegal marijuana grow and a weapons charge.
David Moreno Florez, 28, of Taft, was arrested after law enforcement officers found a clandestine marijuana grow site in the Sequoia National Forest in Fresno County in July 2019.
On Aug. 2, 2019, officers hiked into the grow site, where they found and arrested Marino Cruz Diaz and Moreno Florez, who was carrying a loaded, AR-15-style rifle.
The grow contained over 2,400 marijuana plants, chemicals, fertilizers, chicken wire, irrigation lines and man-made dams and water reservoirs that diverted water from nearby creeks.
Moreno Florez pleaded guilty on April 22. Cruz Diaz also pleaded guilty, and is scheduled to be sentenced Thursday.
