Marijuana grower in Hopland area pleads guilty to environmental violations

A commercial marijuana operation investigated in June 2017 in the Hopland area has resulted in the felony conviction of a man responsible for cultivating over 3,200 plants off of Feliz Creek Road.



Seng Boungnavath, age 52, of Hopland and Ukiah, plead no contest Monday to the illegal cultivation of marijuana while committing environmental violations of law, a felony; possession of marijuana for sale, a misdemeanor; and the unlawful burning of trash, a misdemeanor. A no contest plea on a felony matter is the same as a guilty plea for all purposes.

Law enforcement's investigation continues as to others who participated in these crimes. Any individual with information regarding other's involved in these Feliz Creek Road crimes should contact the Sheriff's Office.

In the course of investigating an illegal burn, investigators located a substantial marijuana operation. Water was being illegally pumped from a creek into two 20,000 gallon bladders for distribution to the many plants being cultivated in greenhouses. Potting soil was also piled along the creekside, a violation of the 150 foot setback required of materials deleterious to fish life. Finally, the defendant was allowing trash and other refuse to accumulate in and about the stream, also a violation of the 150 foot setback requirements.

The prosecutor handling this and other environmental cases involving marijuana is District Attorney David Eyster. The investigating law enforcement agencies responsible for putting together the evidence against this defendant were CalFire, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office. The judge who accepted the defendant's change of plea and who will preside over the sentencing hearing is Mendocino County Superior Court Judge Cindee Mayfield. The defendant will be sentenced on May 1st at 9 o'clock in the morning in Department B at the Ukiah courthouse.

"Those who ignore warnings and continue to violate environmental laws while cultivating marijuana should be aware that law enforcement is coming and we're very serious about environmental enforcement," said DA Eyster.