7 jailed in illegal pot grow, extortion case

The Larimer County Sheriff's Office raided an illegal marijuana grow operation near Fort Collins late last month, making seven arrests, seizing hundreds of live plants and breaking up a recently established and elaborate pot distribution ring, court records show.

But perhaps more interesting to investigators is how the man accused of orchestrating the criminal wheeling and dealing posed as a real estate agent searching for a property where clients could farm organic produce. After finding a property in Wellington, the grow operation's alleged ringleader backed the land owner into a legal corner and threatened a racial discrimination lawsuit against him if he didn't comply with demands, investigators say.

The ordeal started early in September when Mario Garcia contacted the owner of property in the 400 block of Buffalo Range Lane in Wellington. Garcia, 35, claimed to be a West Coast real estate agent who also negotiated deals in the Denver area on behalf of a farming enterprise that grew vegetables.

Believing Garcia was an agent, the property owner told Garcia where the keys to the property were and gave him permission on Sept. 4 to scope out the land, house and outbuildings.

Investigators say Garcia and his partners did more than just look.

Garcia, along with Sergio Sanchez Jr., 21, and Ruddie Lopez, 34, took over the property without the owner's permission. The trio, along with Sergio Sanchez Sr., 45, Raciel Serrano, 29, Ronald Sinigaglia, 29, and Hector Perez, 32, started renovating outbuildings and "began growing marijuana on the 40 acres behind the residence," sheriff's investigators wrote in arrest affidavits for the seven suspects.

All the while the property owner, living in California, was put in a "bad situation" and was being pressured and threatened into renting his property to a "bunch of criminals," he told deputies. When asked for documents to verify his employment and identity, Garcia provided fake records and continued to direct the operation.

With all the back and forth, the property owner refused to sign any lease with Garcia and his partners. Garcia even deposited $8,400 into the owner's bank account to hold the property and try to force a lease upon him, investigators wrote.

Conversations grew more heated later in the month, and Garcia started threatening the owner, saying he would be liable in court for breach of contract damages and not renting the residence to Hispanics.

"Garcia made numerous threats of litigation to bully" the landowner into renting the property, investigators wrote. Garcia said he "had powerful attorneys" who could take the case to court and bilk the land owner out of any future profit and thousands of dollars in court fees.

While the argument with Garcia continued, the landowner remained unaware that anyone was actually living on the property.

That all changed late last month.

Two weeks after he authorized Garcia's visit, the property owner got a call from an actual, interested real estate agent. He gave permission to scope out the area, and the agent went to the spot on Sept. 19. There, the agent was met by a large pit bull and several Hispanic men who acted "rudely and aggressively" and demanded to know who the agent was and why the agent was on the property.

The agent reported the unusual situation to law enforcement two days later, and deputies visited the property Sept. 25.

Investigators located approximately 75 pounds of finished, sale-ready bud marijuana and 245 live marijuana plants. All of the men, except Garcia, were jailed at the time. In interviews with investigators, Lopez said he was a medical marijuana patient.

"After Lopez was arrested, he claimed all of the marijuana on the property belonged to him under his 99 plant medical marijuana card and that he smokes and eats all of the approximately 200 pounds of marijuana currently located on the property," deputies wrote.

Investigators reached out to Department of Revenue officials who said none of the men were legally licensed to grow or sell pot, records indicate. Each contributed to the grow operations and conspired with Lopez to take part of the profit from the sales. Sinigaglia — Lopez's brother — was the project's electrician and is shown posing in cellphone photos next to his handiwork in a grow house.

The sheriff's office issued a plea for the public's help last week in locating Garcia, who was arrested Oct. 5 near Denver. He is being held on $300,000 bond and faces a laundry list of felony drug and extortion-related charges.

The other six men face felony charges of marijuana cultivation, intent to distribute, criminal mischief and burglary. A judge set bonds last week of at least $100,000 for each — at least two have posted bond as of Wednesday afternoon, jail records indicate.

Many of the individuals came to Colorado from Florida to grow and sell pot, investigators said.

Due to the sensitivity of the case, the Coloradoan will not publish the property owner's name at this time.

Despite the arrests, an active and ongoing investigation is continuing to determine who else may have been involved in this case and whether any other operations in Colorado or elsewhere are connected. Anyone with information about this case or any other case believed to be connected is asked to call the Larimer County Sheriff's Office at 970-416-1985 or Crime Stoppers at 970-221-6868 where you will remain anonymous and possibly be eligible for a cash reward.

Reporter Jason Pohl covers breaking news and law enforcement for the Coloradoan. Follow him on Twitter: @pohl_jason.