WASHINGTON, DC- DECEMBER 19 Metropolitan Police Departments narcotics unit and federal authorities seized approximately 80 pounds of methamphetamine, 9.6. kilograms of cocaine, 1.25 gallons of PCP. 23.5 pounds of marijuana, heroin and MDMA/ecstasy. The drugs were purchased and seized by the detectives in the investigation and were on display for a press conference at the Metropolitan Police Headquarters in Washington, D.C. on December 19, 2011. Metropolitan Police Department Chief Cathy L.Lanier and members from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives announced today the arrests of 70 suspects for the possession and distribution of firearms and narcotics with a street value of more than $7.1 million. (Photo by Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Apple Valley, California – In the quiet high desert town of Apple Valley, where Joshua trees frame the horizon and suburban tranquility defines daily life, authorities uncovered a sprawling illegal cannabis operation this week. According to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, they seized more than 10,000 marijuana plants from a single residential property on Tioga Road, part of what investigators are calling a large-scale marijuana cultivation and distribution enterprise.
The operation came to light on Tuesday, June 3, when detectives from the Apple Valley Police Department and the Sheriff’s Marijuana Enforcement Team served a search warrant at the home of Jeremy and Marissa Marie Ewell. Inside, law enforcement found not just an industrial-scale grow, but a well-stocked inventory of cannabis products intended for sale. The haul included 286 unregulated THC vape cartridges, 716 grams of concentrated marijuana wax, and 91 pounds of processed cannabis—evidence, authorities say, of an operation far beyond personal use.
The Ewells, aged 38 and 36, were arrested on charges of cultivation of marijuana for sale and booked into the High Desert Detention Center. Authorities have since released the couple on bail. As of Thursday, no court date has been publicly listed.
Though California voters legalized recreational marijuana in 2016 through Proposition 64, large-scale cultivation and sales still require licensing, oversight, and strict regulatory compliance. Unauthorized grows not only skirt these regulations but often pose environmental and safety risks—issues law enforcement has repeatedly highlighted across rural parts of the state.
In San Bernardino County, local officials have taken a particularly aggressive stance against unlicensed cannabis operations, citing concerns ranging from water theft to fire hazards. The Marijuana Enforcement Team was established in part to crack down on these sprawling, often hidden grows that have proliferated despite legalization.
For some residents, stories like this prove the growing tension between California’s legal cannabis market and the persistent underground economy it was meant to replace.
The investigation remains ongoing, and authorities have not disclosed whether additional arrests are expected or whether the operation is linked to a broader network.
