In Brief: Santa Rosa

VIOLENCE RISING IN MARIJUANA RAIDS

California marijuana fields have become killing fields as violence rises
along with government raids now on pace to seize a record $1.4 billion
worth of pot.

The body of a Santa Rosa man hacked to death with a machete was found near
a Mendocino County pot garden Friday, capping a week in which four
suspected marijuana-field guards were killed in confrontations in Shasta
and Butte counties with local and state authorities.

Five weeks into the state's annual two-month campaign against pot growers,
nearly 325,000 maturing marijuana plants statewide have been destroyed.
Last year, a total of 354,164 plants were seized.