Two Sonoma Men Among North Bay Marijuana Ring Arrests

By Bay City News Service

Three Bay Area men were among six people arrested Tuesday by agents of a state task force investigating an interstate marijuana ring, California Attorney General Kamala Harris announced today.

The Bay Area arrestees are Jamie Gilbert, 35, of San Francisco, arrested on suspicion of possession of marijuana for sale; and Emory Ayers, 64, and Alvin Machado, 27, both of Sonoma, arrested on suspicion of cocaine possession. Machado is also suspected of a probation violation, Harris said.

Harris said the arrests and the seizure of nearly 3,000 marijuana plants and 44 weapons were conducted by the North State Marijuana Investigation Team, a task force of state and local law enforcement agencies led by the California Department of Justice.

The other three people arrested are Humboldt County residents Erik Sordal, 31, Scott Moore, 31, and Shawn Mitten, 35. All are suspected of possessing marijuana for sale and Sordal is additionally suspected of marijuana cultivation and child endangerment.

Harris said the marijuana plants and guns were seized in searches Tuesday in Humboldt County, San Francisco and the city of Sonoma. She described the alleged marijuana ring as a "multi-state operation" that "cultivated and trafficked large amounts of marijuana to be sold illegally on streets across the United States."

The six people arrested were booked into local county jails, Harris said. The investigation began as a result of a tip to the task force in 2010, she said.