Major steps were taken Thursday to get illegal marijuana out of our area and keep it off the streets.
The city of Fresno approved a permanent ban on outdoor marijuana gardens.
And deputies pulled out millions of dollars worth of marijuana plants in Fresno County.
It is just one example of the magnitude of the illegal marijuana problem in the central valley.
Under the netting, and in the greenhouses, thirteen different plots of marijuana and more than 3,500 hundred plants.
“We've had neighbors complain about the criminal activity the marijuana grow, the odor and everything associated with these types of operations,” said Lt. Rick Ko with the Fresno Sheriff’s Department.
Deputies and D.E.A. agents detained six people.
The people were living in shacks. And they weren't the only ones out here.
“There's about half a dozen people detained and we've had people come in and out of here. When we first arrived there were two gang members that were leaving the area,” Ko said.
And that's what worries neighbors like Stephen Fairchild.
“I purchased it thinking there was very little problems and now there’s problems,” Fairchild said.
And it's the problems associated with outdoor marijuana gardens that have prompted Fresno county and the city of Fresno to ban them.
Robberies. Shootings. Even murder.
Fresno county detectives are still trying to find 16 year old Sammy Mercado.
He disappeared after reportedly trying to steal marijuana near Sanger.
In Fresno, a man was shot and killed near Roeding Park after he ripped some plants out of a large backyard garden.
“There's still opportunity for this to be grown for medical uses under the law but the outdoor locations have created a great deal of trouble,” said Fresno City Manager Mark Scott.
