Suspected pot caretaker arrested in police operation in local mountains

A man was arrested, suspected of cultivating marijuana in our local mountains. The US Forest service says 49 year old Rafael Torres Cruz, is suspected of serving as caretaker for a pot field in the Snow Creek area.

Torres Cruz was arrested about 4 a.m. Tuesday in a drainage area near the Black Mountain region. He is currently being held on $100,000 bail at the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside.

US Forest Spokesman John Miller says the field was owned by an “organized drug trafficker” but did not name the owner and did not know how many plants were there.

Miller also said that About six hours after Torres Cruz’s arrest, officers from the multi-agency team called for help. 6 officers on the team had to be rescued and airlifted down to Snow Creek Road, we brought you live coverage while it was happening. Two of the six ended up being taken to area hospitals with unknown heat related illnesses.