A man from Merced has been sentenced in a federal marijuana cultivation case. 42-year-old Custodio Ibarra Nunez was convicted of cultivation, conspiracy to cultivate and depredation of public lands in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest. Nunez was a mostly off-site manager of a garden in the Summer of 2019 containing more than 4,000 plants south of Rays Peak northeast of Hyampom in Trinity County. Law enforcement caught up with Nunez later at his home in Merced, where he was growing, packaging and mailing cannabis. There were three co-conspirators found at the garden. Francisco Madrigal Magana and Mario Lopez Pena were arrested at the grow site and eventually sentenced to 18 months and 24 months in federal prison. A 17-year-old who was there has not been charged. Nunez has been in custody since February of 2020. He was sentenced Tuesday to 10 years in prison and must pay about $18,000 restitution for the damage to the forest.
-Steve Gibson