Sheriff’s detectives bust pot enterprise

Sheriff’s Detectives on Wednesday shut down an illegal marijuana growing operation and other criminal activities in Oakhurst.

After serving a search warrant in the 49000 block of Pierce Drive, detectives found the indoor marijuana garden with an illegal PG&E electrical bypass as well as property that had been stolen from a local nursery. In addition, several firearms, including an illegal short-barreled shotgun, were seized.

Detectives arrested 32 year old Jacob Clendenning for cultivation of marijuana, possession of the short-barreled shotgun, theft of utilities, and possession of stolen property.

While Detectives were at the residence, 24-year-old Nicole Naumcheff arrived and was found to be carrying narcotics. She was arrested for possession of narcotics for sale.

Clendenning admitted to the lead investigator, Detective Neil Cuthbert, that he had been involved in a number of recent thefts at a local nursery. when asked how many, he told them too many to remember. He told detectives he was stealing fertilizer and plant soil to use in his indoor marijuana growing operation.