Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

POMONA - A Claremont man was arrested Thursday after an officer investigating damage to a building door discovered a large scale marijuana grow, police said.

More than 1,100 pounds of marijuana was confiscated from the building At 960 E. First St. The marijuana operation was discovered just after 4 a.m. April 2.

While investigating damage to the commercial building’s door, an officer found the building’s owner standing to the front of the location, Pomona police said.

The Pomona police special investigations unit arrived on scene, authored a search warrant, and later confiscated the marijuana.

“Although the use of marijuana is legal in the State of California, the cultivation and sales of Marijuana are illegal within city limits,” Pomona police said in a written statement.

Police arrested 42-year-old Claremont resident Matthew Alan. He was booked on suspicion of cultivation of marijuana, Pomona police said.

City of Pomona code enforcement “red-tagged” the building to rent rent unsafe and uninhabitable, Pomona police said.

Written by AARON CASTREJON | CityWatch Editor

POMONA - Four suspects, two of them known gang members, were arrested Thursday after a joint effort between Pomona and Claremont Police yielded weapons and stolen police property.
 
The focus on the house, its location withheld by authorities, began after police became aware that armed gang members frequented the location. Claremont officers joined the investigation after learning a Pomona gang member on probation was at the home, Pomona Police said.
 
The San Gabriel Valley Crime Impact Task Force performed surveillance on the home Thursday and stopped a vehicle seen leaving the residence. The two occupants of the vehicle were wanted for burglary and arrested, Pomona Police said.
 
Surveillance continued on the home as the CITF waited for the armed suspects to leave. Hours later, the suspects left the home and officers attempted to stop both of them, however one ran off, forcing a containment search, Pomona Police said.
 
The pursuing officer believed the fleeing suspect fled back into the home.
 
The hiding suspect’s probation allows for compliance checks. The CITF and Pomona Police Major Crimes Task Force conducted a search of the home.
 
Not only were the suspect and additional occupants detained, officers found a loaded rifle and a loaded shotgun and a replica rifle with the orange barrel tip blackened with marker in one of the suspect’s bedrooms. Additionally, stolen property belonging to a police officer from a neighboring agency was recovered in one of the suspect’s bedrooms, Pomona Police said.
 
Jose Maria Gutierrez, 35,Mark Anthony Mateus, 41, Christopher Boyd Wynn, 32, all from Pomona, were arrested.
 
Gracee Lyllian Criswell, a 28-year-old Beaumont residentwas also arrested.