Five arrested on pot growing charges

Five people — two in Lindsay and three in Visalia — were arrested in connection to illegal marijuana grows, the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office reported.

On Wednesday and Thursday, TCSO detectives responded to residences in the Lindsay and Visalia areas to assist Tulare County RMA with the service of civil abatement warrants for marijuana.

During the execution of the search warrants, deputies located 2,400 marijuana plants on the 21200 block of Avenue 245, in Lindsay, and 500 marijuana plants on the 25700 block of Hypericum Road, in Visalia. Detectives also located an illegal short-barreled assault rifle with a high-capacity magazine at the Lindsay residence.

Sergio Pineda, 18, and Rolando Soto, 38 were arrested in connection with the Lindsay investigation, and Aldofo Cruz, 28, Pablo Ponce, 52, and Alberto Panera, 33, were arrested in connection with the Visalia investigation.

During the investigation, it was determined the marijuana was being illegally cultivated.

This case remains under investigation and anyone with information is encouraged to call the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office at 733-6211 or anonymous information may be reported via Tipnow email: tcso@tipnow.net, text or voicemail at 725-4194 or download the Tipnow app for Android or Apple phones.