Sheriff Joe Arpaio announced Tuesday that detectives with several law enforcement agencies under the command of the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office executed warrants, following a 3-month investigation, involving as many as 25 individuals believed to be involved in an illegal enterprise masked as medical marijuana grow near 40th Street and East Washington in Phoenix. The primary suspects, Perry Lee Hestor, 57 and his son, Brandon Lee Hestor, 35, are among those who have been arrested.
The warrant operation was planned and executed by detectives in the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office Drug Suppression Task Force, in close cooperation with Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich’s Office, DEA, Phoenix Police, Tempe Police, Buckeye Police and U.S Border Patrol who participate in the AZ HIDTA task force.
“This is a major operation making millions of dollars,” said Sheriff Arpaio. “We have a huge marijuana problem coming across the border and now we are dealing with domestic home grown marijuana.”
It is estimated that the site at 35 S. 40th Street in Phoenix, has between 600 and 1000 marijuana plants. On the low end, the crop could produce 2400 pounds of product per year. At $3,000 per pound, the total take with just 600 plants, would be slightly more than $7 million. Furthermore, the hashish production of this size operation could yield in excess of $3 million in a two year period. At various times of the day and night the odor of growing marijuana can be detected from over 500 yards away from this facility. The business is suspected of growing over 2,000 lbs. of marijuana a year since opening in late 2013.
Along with the Phoenix warehouse (picture attached), warrants were executed at residences in Scottsdale, Phoenix, and Fountain Hills, where guns, marijuana, marijuana plants, multiple pounds of hash and over $100,000 in cash were recovered. Charges ranging from fraudulent schemes, participating in a criminal conspiracy, producing narcotic drugs for sale, cultivating marijuana for sale and sales of narcotics and marijuana, will be forthcoming.
Others arrested and booked into 4th Ave Jail are Christopher Neil Rafferty 36, James Allen Donaldson 62, and Christopher Yancy Martin, 45.
Investigators found that the operation was running a “caregiver” scheme and that, unlike legal marijuana dispensaries, was not overseen by the Arizona Department of Health Services. Additionally, investigators discovered that there were no background checks for employees, no dispensary fees or agent cards, no safety regulations, no product inspection, no inventory controls, no transportation limits or regulations, all of which must be in place for legal dispensaries. Also, there was no record of any taxes being paid by the enterprise.
The operation is similar in nature to the one reported in May, 2015, in which the Sheriff’s Office HIDTA task force took down a major drug ring that had its warehouse at 2425 S. 7th Avenue in Phoenix. This location was found to have 581 marijuana plants. Further investigation resulted in another 784 plants found in a 3rd Avenue apartment, whose occupant had ties to the warehouse operators.
Sheriff Arpaio, who was head of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in Arizona, Texas, Mexico and South America, before becoming Sheriff 23 years ago, is determined to keep illegal drugs – no matter their source, off the streets. In a separate operation on April 15, 2016, the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office seized 1200 lbs. of marijuana, worth $800,000, and arrested two suspects.