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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Our View: House stands in the way of transportation deal ... National Guardsmen return to praise and hugs in Medford ... Triple digit heat will stick around Rogue Valley for awhile ... Our View: House stands in the way of transportation deal ... National Guardsmen return to praise and hugs in Medford ... Triple digit heat will stick around Rogue Valley for awhile ... Mexican man pleads guilty to growing pot in forest near Ashland Comment By Thomas Moriarty Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Thomas Moriarty Mail Tribune Posted Nov. 18, 2014 at 12:19 PM Updated Nov 18, 2014 at 12:26 PM By Thomas Moriarty Mail Tribune Posted Nov. 18, 2014 at 12:19 PM Updated Nov 18, 2014 at 12:26 PM » RELATED CONTENT • Big illegal marijuana garden busted in forest outside Ashland... » Social News A Mexican national arrested in a SWAT team raid on a marijuana growing site near Ashland this summer pleaded guilty Monday in federal court. Humberto Salgado-Salgado entered a plea of guilty to one count of conspiracy to manufacture marijuana. In return, the U.S. Attorney's Office says it will drop an additional charge of manufacture of marijuana at sentencing. He faces a maximum of 10 years in prison under federal guidelines. Salgado-Salgado, 36, and 50-year-old Juan Albert Lopez-Moroyoqui were arrested Aug. 18 by a SWAT team from the Jackson County Sheriff's Department when investigators raided a roughly 5,000-plant grow site in the Neil Creek drainage, six miles south of Ashland. Investigators from the U.S. Forest Service's law enforcement division had been watching the site for months after a Forest Service employee discovered the illegal garden in January. According to a criminal complaint filed Aug. 25, agents made multiple trips into the grow site for reconnaissance and to gather evidence prior to the raid. In the complaint, Special Agent Robert Caruthers described the site as a "Mexican style Drug Trade Organization grow that is typically occupied by DTO personnel during the warmer growing season." Along with live marijuana plants, investigators found individual plant holes containing dead marijuana plants and hillside locations that had been terraced for future planting. When deputies and Forest Service agents served a search warrant at the site Aug. 19, the complaint says, they ended up removing removing more than 1,100 live plants. According to the complaint, Salgado-Salgado told investigators that the men, who had been driven in a van from Santa Rosa, Calif.,  expected to be paid a third of the value of the harvested crop. Salgado-Salgado's sentencing has been set for 10 a.m. Jan. 26, 2015. Lopez-Moroyoqui's trial is set to begin at 9 a.m. Feb. 10. Reach reporter Thomas Moriarty at 541-776-4471, or by email at [email protected] . Follow him at @ThomasDMoriarty . By Thomas Moriarty Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Thomas Moriarty Mail Tribune Posted Nov. 18, 2014 at 12:19 PM Updated Nov 18, 2014 at 12:26 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... Business Name address Location, ST | website.com Find Southern Oregon Attractions Bars Restaurants Beauty Salons Entertainment Doctors Medical Specialists Contractors Education Lawn Services Lawyers Shopping Travel Tanning Used Cars Wedding Services ▼ Add your business here + Events Calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Propel Marketing Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Mobile Site Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2015 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Local Media Group Publications Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted. MailTribune.com | P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501