SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Northern California authorities have arrested 18 people and raided a dozen sites connected to marijuana operations.
The Yuba County Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday that one of the suspects is the leader of a Rastafarian church where deputies fatally shot an armed farm worker said to be threatening church members in August.
The raids in Sacramento and Yuba counties were carried out by officers from nine state and county law enforcement agencies.
The sheriff’s department said 46-year-old Heidi Grossman-Lepp, the church leader, was arrested in neighboring Sacramento County on suspicion of growing and possessing marijuana for sale. Jail records don’t indicate if she is represented by an attorney.
Yuba County Sheriff Steve Durfor said officers seized $21,000 in cash, 1,500 marijuana plants, five pounds of processed marijuana and eight guns.