A 31-year-old woman was discovered shot to death inside a pickup truck at a sprawling illegal marijuana grow on Rifle Range Road, in a rugged, isolated area outside Covelo in Mendocino County. Deputies found her in a silver 2007 Toyota Tacoma that appeared to be peppered with bullet holes. Investigators believe multiple suspects were involved. The sheriff's office has not yet released the woman's name.
What deputies say
Last Thursday, Mendocino County Sheriff's deputies were called to the Rifle Range Road area outside Covelo and ultimately located the victim inside the silver 2007 Toyota Tacoma. The truck, authorities said, showed several apparent gunshot strikes, according to CBS News. Investigators told the outlet that the woman's family had already been searching for her for hours and only later heard she might be at a rural property housing a large illegal marijuana cultivation operation.
Pattern of violence at illegal grows
Mendocino County has seen more than its share of bloodshed tied to unlicensed cannabis operations, with shootings, buried human remains and forced-labor investigations surfacing in recent years, local reporters and officials have noted, according to SFGATE. Sheriff Matt Kendall and others have repeatedly warned that turf battles, rip-offs and dropping cannabis prices can fuel violence on remote grow sites, where the distance from town and rough terrain make patrols and witness interviews a constant headache.
Investigation and how to help
Detectives have not released any suspect descriptions, and the sheriff's office says the case remains very much active. The Mendocino County Sheriff's Office has asked anyone with potentially useful information to call its dispatch center at 707-463-4086 or leave an anonymous message at 707-234-2100, according to SFGATE. Officials are urging anyone who knows something specific about this shooting to contact investigators so they can follow up.
Community reaction
People in Covelo and across the Emerald Triangle say they are worn down by the cycle of raids, arrests and occasional violence tied to illegal grows, and some local leaders have pushed for more funding for patrols and cleanup of damaged sites. For now, though, investigators have not offered a timeline for any arrests, and the sheriff's office says the homicide investigation is still ongoing.
