Major Pot Find on Palomar Mountain was Discovered

[superjoint]

Posted by FoM on July 14, 2001 at 11:09:08 PT
By Jennifer Dobner and Elizabeth Fitzsimons
Source: Union-Tribune

When Robbin Bartkowski heard helicopters buzzing above her mountain home earlier this week, she felt fairly certain that she knew why. It is not uncommon in the summer and early fall for law officers to search the mountain by air, looking for illegal marijuana farms, she said.
But no one here expected they would find what they did: 46,000 plants with an estimated street value of $4.6 million. Authorities say the find is the biggest in the county in more than 22 years. "I'm glad they found it, so that my kids didn't," said Bartkowski, a self-described middle-aged hippie and the mother of two teen-agers.

Her husband, J.B. Bartkowski, added, "I hike these canyons all the time, and I've never run into anything like that, although I've heard lots of people grow pot up here."

The farm, which was discovered during a routine flyover by officers on the county's Narcotics Task Force, is in a remote area of the Cleveland National Forest below County Road S6, sheriff's Lt. Bill Baxter said. The area can be reached on foot only by a 31/2-mile hike.

Growing under a canopy of oak and manzanita trees, the plants were about 3 feet high and likely had been planted in April or early May.

Some were in rows terraced into the mountainside. Others were planted along ridge lines in canyons and gullies. A drip irrigation system was siphoning water out of a nearby natural spring.

"It looks like a big spider web," Baxter said. "They did a lot of work, there's no question. A number of laborers have been tending it and there is evidence of fertilizing and repair work where irrigation lines have been broken. This is a very serious grow."

The sheer scope of the operation seemed proof enough yesterday, to those who have a noontime cup of coffee in front of the Palomar Mountain General Store, that no locals were involved.

"It had to be out-of-town money, that's a major operation and nobody around here has money like that," said Jim, an Oregon native who asked to be identified by only his first name.

Local citizens say they didn't notice anyone unusual in the area during recent months. And none of those who hike regularly said they had spotted the pot farm.

But about 80 percent of the people in and out of the Palomar store and the adjacent Mother's Kitchen cafe are tourists, which makes it hard to judge just who is unusual and who is not, the locals said.

Cafe manager Scott Morningstar said he didn't believe reports that the marijuana find would reflect negatively on the tight-knit Palomar Mountain community or keep tourists away.

"I don't think it even has an impact. Most people who come up here go to the observatory, or to hike and camp," he said. "These kinds of things have happened before. I've never had a sense that anyone felt any fear."

J.B. Bartkowski said his only concern was that those tending a large farm might react with violence if he came across a grow during one of his hikes. "I think some of those guys would just as soon shoot you," he said.

Although they have some leads, officers have not arrested anyone in connection with the operation, Baxter said. Nor do authorities know how many people were involved. Baxter said some of the seized marijuana will be saved for evidence and the rest will be burned.

"I honestly don't know if we got it all or not, but we'll be back up there searching again," he said.

By Jennifer Dobner and Elizabeth Fitzsimons, Union-Tribune Staff Writers

Note: Local folks say they think it was out-of-town money.

Complete Title: Major Pot Find on Palomar Mountain was Discovered in Routine Flyover

Source: San Diego Union Tribune (CA)
Author: Jennifer Dobner and Elizabeth Fitzsimons
Published: July 14, 2001
Copyright: 2001 Union-Tribune Publishing Co.
Contact: letters@uniontrib.com
Website: http://www.uniontrib.com/

[zen_420]

the bitch is a hippie and she didn't want her teenagers finding the plants??? and I lmao @ morningstar hahahaha

[eyec0n]

Originally Posted by superjoint

Although they have some leads, officers have not arrested anyone in connection with the operation, Baxter said. Nor do authorities know how many people were involved. Baxter said some of the seized marijuana will be saved for evidence and the rest will be burned.

hehehehe. burned in a bong

[Medicine Al]

And all the cops had to do was stake out the spot to catch the growers, but they were too lazy...so they just stole some plants! Who is that 'evidence' gathered against? No perp, means no trial, means no one will ever ask where the evidence went!

[Budder81]

It could be possible that the grower is selling directly to the cops. He grows it, and when the buds are about ready, 'someone' reports it, cops go in and take what they paid for. This way, it looks like a bust, when it was a deal.

[xekushnr]

Originally Posted by Budder81

It could be possible that the grower is selling directly to the cops. He grows it, and when the buds are about ready, 'someone' reports it, cops go in and take what they paid for. This way, it looks like a bust, when it was a deal.

Judging by the timeframe, these plants probably werent even flowering yet. So that is probably not the case, at least in this story.

I like this quote:
"It had to be out-of-town money, that's a major operation and nobody around here has money like that," said Jim, an Oregon native who asked to be identified by only his first name.

rofl, sounds like it was his farm.