Tulare County man sentenced to prison for pot grow in Kern County

U.S. District Judge Anthony W. Ishii sentenced Bernardino Garcia, 47, of Farmersville, Monday to three years in prison, U.S. Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.

According to court documents, Garcia and his wife Martha Maria Lopez, 45, along with six others were arrested on June 15, 2011, on agricultural land in the McFarland area where approximately 2,400 marijuana plants were being grown. Lopez is scheduled to be sentenced on March 11. She will be the last defendant sentenced in the case.

The case is the product of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Kern County Sheriff’s Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Rooney is prosecuting the case.