The garden, located on the south bank of the San Joaquin River about 10 miles north of Dos Palos, yielded nearly 2,000 plants, many with 2-inch-thick stems, 12 to 15 feet tall, and some having up to 10 buds.
The illegal garden came to light Monday afternoon when two of three Dos Palos men allegedly looking to pluck some buds for their own use were shot by armed guards when they stumbled onto the garden, Merced County Sheriff's Detective Scott Dover said.
Tommy McCarty, 33, was shot in the right thigh, and Ray Prater, 43, was hit in the left ankle. They were taken to a Modesto hospital, where they remained Tuesday.
John Paul James, 29, the third man, managed to get away and drove the victims to safety. He called authorities and was arrested on suspicion of being a felon in possession of ammunition.
Thriving on nearly an acre of ground, the plants were spaced about 2 feet apart in four separate gardens. Large trees and dense vegetation concealed the plants from the ground and air.
The plants were watered through an irrigation system consisting of a generator that supplied electricity to a pump in the river.
Special Weapons And Tactical deputies went in Monday evening to clear the area, and reportedly found booby traps consisting of fish hooks suspended from tree branches and large rat traps positioned along the way, Dover said.
He said there was evidence that two individuals stayed at the site full time. Spent casings, live ammunition and other firearm accessories indicated the guards were armed with two high-powered rifles.
Early Tuesday, Sheriff's Tactical And Reconnaissance deputies and detectives, armed with machetes, began pulling up the plants and loading them onto tractors to be taken to an undisclosed location to be incinerated, said Dover.
Dover estimated the value of each plant at around $5,000.
The crop, if harvested, could have sold for about $10 million, Dover said.
There were no arrests, but investigators are following up several leads, he said.
Sheriff Mark Pazin was not surprised about the shootings.
"My worst fears have come true," he said. "These marijuana growers are now protecting their investment by shooting people.
"This time it was a rip-off, but next time it could be innocent victims who just happen to stumble upon a marijuana garden."
Reporter Mike De La Cruz can be reached at 385-2474 or mdelacruz@mercedsun-star.com.
