Full Notification

DATE/TIME: January 11, 2015 / 11:00 a.m.

INCIDENT: Concentrated Cannabis (THC) Extraction Lab

LOCATION: 60200 block of Stearman Road, Landers

SUSPECT: Ryan Schlafke, age 34, Long Beach / Joshua Jackson, age 27, Transient / Muhammad Zureich, age 21, Culver City / Oscar Salcedo, age 38, Pacoima / Victor Caro, age 35, Adelanto

SUMMARY:
On Sunday, January 11, 2015, at approximately 11:00 a.m., deputies from the Morongo Basin Sheriff’s Station responded to a residence on Stearman Road in Landers to serve an arrest warrant for a suspect. Upon arriving and making contact with the residents at the location deputies discovered a concentrated cannabis extraction lab. Five suspects were detained and the Sheriff’s Narcotics Division Marijuana Enforcement Team responded to assist with the investigation.

Investigators found a large scale chemical extraction lab operating at the residence. The suspects set up the extraction lab inside a steel storage container. Several glass tubes filled with marijuana and butane were discovered. This chemical process is ille9gal and is a violation of California’s Health & Safety Code. The extraction process is extremely dangerous with a high potential for explosion due to the use of large amounts of butane.

Investigators seized six pounds of processed marijuana, four ounces of concentrated cannabis (oil), several hundred canisters of butane, seven glass tubes, an SKS assault rifle, a shotgun, a semi-automatic handgun and body armor.

At the conclusion of the investigation all five suspects were arrested and charged with the Manufacturing a Controlled Substance, a felony. Additional charges of a Felon in Possession of a Firearm and Body Armor will be sought against Caro and Salcedo. All suspects were booked at the Morongo Basin jail facility with a bail of $500,000. The investigation will be submitted to the District Attorney’s Office for criminal charges.

Anyone with information regarding this investigation is urged to contact the Sheriff’s Narcotics Division at (909)890-4840. Callers wishing to remain anonymous are urged to call the We-tip Hotline at 1-800-78-CRIME (27463) or you may leave information on the We-Tip Hotline at www.wetip.com.

Refer: Gary Wheeler, Sergeant
Station: Narcotics Division
Case No. 621500016
Phone. 909-890-4840

John McMahon, Sheriff-Coroner
San Bernardino County Sheriff-Coroner Department