BIGGEST POT BUST IN COUNTY HISTORY

The SLO County Sheriff's Department's raid of a remote Los Osos pot farm
netted what may be the largest bust in the county's history: 9,189 plants,
worth, according to the Department of Justice, between $9 million and $27
million on the streets.

The bust took place on Aug. 15, on private land above Clark Valley Road.
The farm was located just east of the site of a July 1999 bust that netted
more than 7,000 plants but resulted in no arrests.

Two suspects have been arrested on charges of conspiracy to distribute
marijuana in this latest case, Francisco Garcia, 44, of Santa Maria, and
Octavio Mendoze, 52, of Mexico. Mendoza, who reportedly drew a 9mm pistol
when deputies made contact with him, was also booked on an additional
charge of assault with a deadly weapon.