LARGE POT SEIZURE IN EL PASO COUNTY

Thirteen pounds of processed marijuana and more than 500 marijuana plants were seized Friday when authorities served a search warrant at a suspected illegal grow. The plants were in various stages of growth, and investigators estimate the street value at about $425,000. Antonio Lazaro Moreno, 35, and Armando Javier Vega, 42, were arrested. This month, drug investigators in El Paso County have served 10 search warrants, seizing about 300 pounds of processed marijuana and about 1,000 plants, the sheriff’s office said.

Sanders endorses Salazar in state attorney general’s race.

State Rep. Joe Salazar won an endorsement Friday in the state attorney general’s race, announcing backing from former presidential candidate and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders. Salazar, of Thornton, is battling former University of Colorado law school dean Phil Weiser in the Democratic primary.

Denver attorney Brad Levin, another Democrat, is battling in court to get on the June 26 primary ballot.

18th Judicial District Attorney George Brauchler is the only Republican running.

Coloradan named to S.D. post.

SIOUX FALLS,

South Dakota’s Department of Social Services has named a new head administrator for the state-run mental health hospital in Yankton. Ken Cole is operations director for the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education Mental Health Program in Colorado. He has led projects for state psychiatric hospitals and mental health agencies. Cole is to begin his new duties May 29. He succeeds Troy Jones, who resigned last summer and died March 6 after a battle with cancer.

Man arrested as suspect in sex assault on a child.

Benjamin Robert Macaluso, 47, of Berthoud, was arrested Tuesday on allegations of sexual assaults on a child from several years ago, according to the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office.

Two victims have accused Macaluso of sexual abuse committed in 2009 at his former photography business, BellaClaire Studios, 434 Mountain Ave., in Berthoud, according to a news release. The business closed at that location in 2013.

Macaluso faces charges of sexual assault on a child and two counts of sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust, the sheriff’s office said.

The defendant posted $1,750 bail on April 25 and was released from custody. An investigation is ongoing.

Kansas man sentenced in $3 million marijuana conspiracy.

KANSAS CITY,

A Kansas man was sentenced to five years in prison without parole for his role in a conspiracy to distribute $3 million of marijuana in the Kansas City area.

Prosecutors say 29-yearold Justin Polson of Overland Park was sentenced Thursday and ordered to forfeit $1.5 million to the government.

Polson pleaded guilty in September to conspiracy to distribute marijuana and participating in a money-laundering scheme.

His co-defendant, 38year-old James Mack, of Westminster, was given the same sentence last month on the same charges and also ordered to forfeit $1.5 million.

Prosecutors say Mack mailed marijuana in fivegallon plastic buckets to Polson between September 2012 and May 2015.

Polson deposited about $3 million into Mack’s bank account, in amounts below $10,000 to avoid reporting requirements.