Full Notification

(Valley Springs, CA) On 01-11-18 members of the Calaveras County Sheriff’s Office Marijuana Enforcement Team served a search warrant for an illegal unregistered indoor marijuana grow at a residence in the 6000 block of Highway 26 in Valley Springs. This location is another residence where deputies found the entire house had been converted for marijuana cultivation. 1,346 marijuana plants were seized and one subject arrested. Xiu Huang (57 year old female from Sacramento) was booked into the Calaveras County Jail with $30,000 bail for 11358(c)H&S – illegal marijuana cultivation and 11366H&S - maintaining a place for the purpose of unlawfully selling, giving away, or using any controlled substance (commonly known as “operating a drug house”).
The Sheriff’s Office does not treat entering and processing these indoor marijuana grows as routine events. Property owners and realtors who are forced to deal with the aftermath of these illegal commercial sized indoor marijuana grows in residential houses should take note and be aware of the potential hazards these operations pose. Moisture intrusion in the ceiling, walls, and flooring materials promotes widespread mold and fungus. Other types of property damage caused by these operations include damage to kitchens, bathrooms and plumbing utilities from heavy use and drainage system back-ups, due to potting soil and plant debris being flushed down toilets and drains. Properties are also damaged by contamination from fertilizers and insecticides as well as rodent, termite, cockroach and/or bedbug infestations promoted by wet conditions. Modifications to buildings, such as plastic sheeting stapled on walls/floors, holes cut into ceilings for the installation of ventilation systems to manage heat from grow lights, and electrical system alterations made to bypass power company meters can also be hazardous.