Authorities Link Murder to Cartel

On 10/31, Sheriff Bill Brown related the incidents surrounding the murder of Adan Ruiz, 23, whose body was found on Highway 154 on 9/17. Law enforcement officials connected the murder to a cartel-controlled marijuana grow on property owned by the husband of Independent editor-in-chief and co-owner Marianne Partridge, both of whom were unaware of it. Officers made several arrests elsewhere in the state and seized more than 800 pounds of processed marijuana.