The Lake County Sheriff's Marijuana Suppression Unit seized 408 pounds of processed marijuana and 820 pounds of unprocessed marijuana at a home in Kelseyville, Calif., on Wednesday, November 3, 2010. Photo courtesy of the Lake County Sheriff's Office.

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – Residents in the Buckingham community took their concerns about a marijuana growing operation to a sheriff's deputy, and the result was numerous arrests and huge seizures of marijuana on Wednesday.

Capt. James Bauman of the Lake County Sheriff's Office said a compliance check at an Eastlake Drive home made by members of the sheriff’s Marijuana Suppression Unit resulted in a total of 15 arrests for marijuana and other related charges.

Seized during the raid was 408 pounds of processed marijuana, 820 pounds of unprocessed marijuana plants, and numerous items of evidence of cultivation and sales of marijuana, said Bauman.

The suppression unit also recovered a 9 millimeter semi-automatic handgun that was reported stolen out of San Diego amongst back packs, tents and other camping debris at the address, he added.

Arrested were Bernardo Rivera Corona, 23, of Santa Rosa; Hormisdas Camacho Chino, 36, of Clearlake; Filiberto Camacho Lopez, 23, of Clearlake; Mario Alberto Flores, 29, of Santa Rosa; Humberto Luna Ortiz, 24, of Kelseyville; Marcellino Reyes Perez, 57, of Santa Rosa; Eduardo Mejia Alvarez, 46, of Kelseyville; Ariel Flores Santos, 40, of Santa Rosa; Aldo Figueroa Camacho, 25, of Santa Rosa; Carlos Nunez, 18, of Santa Rosa; Isaias Camacho Chino, 56, of Santa Rosa; Sabas Ramirez Medina, 41, of Santa Rosa; Jorge Lopez Vasquez, 20, of Lower Lake; and Elisandro Nunez Camacho, 18, of Santa Rosa.

They were booked into the Lake County Jail on felony charges of cultivating marijuana, commission of a felony while armed and receiving stolen property, Bauman said. Nine of the men also had immigration holds placed on them.

The homeowner, 60-year-old Benjamin Bizon, was booked on felony charges of cultivation and possession of marijuana for sales, Bauman said.

“The community of Buckingham is putting all drug dealers and pot growers on notice – it won't be in our neighborhood,” said resident Sieg Taylor, one of the community members who took action to notify authorities of what was taking place.

Bill Groody, president of the Buckingham Homes Association, said the issue of marijuana growing at the home had been known to the association's board for some time because of complaints from residents of the 500-home community.

For at least a couple of months, “There was a lot of anxiety building,” said Groody, who said people were reporting seeing individuals with weapons.

Groody also has received reports of as many as five other marijuana grows in and around Buckingham, including one in a large older walnut orchard, where Taylor said a community member was chased off by growers this summer when she was out looking for a missing cat.

A marijuana grow with about 30 plants also was discovered in the raid on Wednesday, November 3, 2010. Photo courtesy of the Lake County Sheriff's Office.

The association board began gathering information and was planning to meet with its attorney to take action under its CC&Rs, and other community members had made code complaints. Groody said other community members, like Taylor, contacted the sheriff's office.

Deputy Frank Walsh offered to come to the association's regular monthly meeting on Oct. 26, where Groody said Walsh “got quite an earful” from concerned residents, which spurred further investigation.

Taylor said there were “more people at that meeting last week than there was in a long time.”

Bauman said the Marijuana Suppression Unit had previously detected a relatively small grow at the Eastlake Drive location during an over flight and already had the site listed as a pending compliance check.

Taylor said a neighbor called him when she saw action at the home, and Taylor said he called Walsh to report what was taking place. It wasn't long afterward that the Marijuana Suppression Unit moved to investigate the residence, he said.

Bauman said it was at 10:50 a.m. Wednesday that detectives went to the residence to check the grow for compliance.

After detecting an obvious odor of processed marijuana in the area and getting no answer at the door, detectives went to the back door of a garage where they had heard voices and were greeted by Hormisdas Camacho Chino, Bauman said.

Inside the garage, detectives located two more male adults – Bernardo Rivera Corona of Santa Rosa and Filiberto Camacho Lopez – who Bauman said were apparently in the process of packaging more than 200 pounds of processed marijuana, 52 pounds of which had already been packaged into one-pound bags.

While the three men in the garage were detained, detectives checked the grow they had previously identified from the air, located about 25 yards behind the residence, Bauman reported.

There, a total of 11 more male adults were found in the small grow in the process of cultivation and were immediately detained. Bauman said the grow consisted of about 30 standing plants, but appeared to have had about 50 plants originally.

Bauman said the unit called additional patrol resources to the scene to assist with arrests, while a search warrant was obtained for the premises.

As arrests were being made, Bizon, the homeowner, drove up and was detained. Bauman said Bizon had two medical marijuana cards but allegedly could not account for the excessive amount of processed marijuana found on the property.

Bauman said investigators believe the Eastlake Drive property was used to package processed marijuana from other gardens, since the small grow found on the property could not have produced the amount of marijuana recovered from the site.

“I have the highest praise for the sheriff's department, the way they moved quickly,” said Groody, who gave Walsh credit for doing an “extraordinary job.”

He suggested it was an example of community activism at its best, with a group of highly motivated citizens working with law enforcement. “I'm extremely proud of the community.”

After he heard that a stolen gun was found at the residence, Taylor said, “We need to stop this,” adding that he wants his community to be safe and to feel safe.

Groody said Walsh has offered to appear at another of the association's monthly meetings.

“He offered to brief the community on this raid and what went on, and also he's got a slide presentation that he's going to do,” said Groody.

Groody added, “I think the more people are aware of this, the better off the community is.”

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