United States Drug Enforcement Administration

FRESNO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned a two-count indictment Thursday against Diego Garcia Lua, 61, of Orange Cove, California, charging him with cultivating marijuana and maintaining a drug-involved premises, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott and Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Daniel C. Comeaux announced.

According to court documents, Lua used his orange orchard to disguise the presence of approximately 6,305 marijuana plants he was growing there.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office and the Drug Enforcement Administration. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kathleen A. Servatius and Katherine E. Schuh are prosecuting the case.

If convicted, Lua faces a maximum statutory penalty of life in prison and a $10 million fine on count one and a 20-year maximum penalty and $250,000 fine on count two. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.