MARIJUANA GROW OPERATION SHOOTING LEAVES ONE DEAD, ONE WOUNDED

28-Year-Old Ukiah Man Held on Suspicion of Murder, Investigation
Remains Ongoing

A shooting at a large-scale marijuana growing operation near Kneeland
Wednesday night left one man dead, another wounded and a third in
custody on suspicion of murder.

The Humboldt County Sheriff's Office reported that it responded to a
report of a gunshot victim at the Cal Fire air station in Kneeland
around 9 a.m. Thursday morning, after a man reportedly walked to the
air station bleeding from a bullet wound.

The Humboldt County Sheriff's Office reported that the suspect in the
shootings, Mykal Xylon Wilde, 28, of Ukiah, was arrested without
incident at about 11 a.m. during a traffic stop one-quarter mile from
the air strip. Wilde has been booked on one count of suspicion of
murder and one count of attempted murder.

The shooting is believed to be marijuana-related and apparently
occurred Wednesday night. It was not reported until about 9 a.m.
Thursday, after the surviving shooting victim hiked more than two
miles from the crime scene to the helicopter base. Initial scanner
reports indicated that the man had been shot in the face and the back.
He was airlifted by Cal Fire helicopter to Mercy Medical Center in
Redding, and authorities said he is in stable condition.

Another man who may have witnessed the shooting was kept under the
care of detectives in Kneeland for several hours before being
transported away from the site.

Early Thursday afternoon, a heavily armed SWAT team, dressed in
camouflage fatigues and full tactical gear, moved in on the scene of
the shootings, which was more than two miles from the base, down
steep, tree-covered hills. It reported finding a deceased adult male,
apparently killed by a gunshot wound, on the property.

Back at the command center set up at the Kneeland Airport,
Undersheriff Mike Downey, after accompanying the SWAT team as it
surveyed and searched the crime scene, said the uninjured man is
cooperating with authorities, and had been in touch with investigators
throughout the day.

"We're making sure he has a place to stay tonight and we're taking
care of him," Downey said.

The undersheriff said the scene of the shooting contained a large
outdoor marijuana grow, consisting of four garden sites that he
estimated had a combined 1,500 to 2,000 plants.

"I've worked marijuana in this area for 25 years, and I would put that
(operation) on a very large scale," Downey said.

He went on to say that some physicians' medical marijuana
recommendations were posted at the gardens and that it would be
"speculative" this early in the investigation to say whether the grow
was illegal.

The Sheriff's Office is withholding the identities of all the victims
at this point. Downey said it appears that all involved in the
Wednesday night altercation have been accounted for based on witness
statements.

Humboldt County District Attorney Paul Gallegos was at the Kneeland
air station Thursday afternoon, and toured the crime scene by
helicopter. Gallegos said officers had the "primary suspect" in
custody, but said investigators were still tracking down leads in an
attempt to determine if anyone else may have been involved with the
shootings.

Wilde's pickup truck was traveling back in the direction of the crime
scene at about 11 a.m. when it was pulled over by the California
Highway Patrol after an alert was put out identifying him as a suspect
in the shooting and warning that he may be armed with a .45-caliber
handgun. Sheriff's animal control officers then responded to take
custody of two pit bulls in the bed of the truck. Authorities did not
speculate on why Wilde was headed back toward the scene.

Shortly afterward, nearly two dozen officers clad in camouflage,
wearing bullet-proof vests and toting automatic weapons, staged at the
airport. The team left at about 1 p.m. in a convoy to the scene of the
shootings. Downey said at the time that the team would approach the
site with an abundance of caution because it was not clear if any
other armed individuals were in the pot grow. It took more than two
hours for the team to canvass the area and secure it, and Downey said
investigators and evidence technicians would likely be processing the
scene for a couple of days.

Early Thursday evening, investigators and SWAT team members were
staging at Wilde's Humboldt County residence in the 3200 block of
Greenwood Heights Road, preparing to serve a search warrant.

While Wilde does not have a criminal history in Humboldt County,
according to court records, he does in Mendocino County, where he also
maintains an address in Ukiah. According to Mendocino County court
records, Wilde twice faced charges of possession of a controlled
substance. In 2007, he reportedly faced charges of felony possession
of a controlled substance for sale and felony transportation of a
controlled substance. Those two charges were later dismissed, and
Wilde pleaded to a single count of misdemeanor possession. Also in
2007, Wilde reportedly pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor count of
possession of concentrated cannabis. His record was later expunged,
according to court records, after Wilde paid his fines, completed his
probation and completed a treatment program mandated by the court.

As of Thursday evening, personnel from the Sheriff's Office, the
District Attorney's Office, the California Highway Patrol, the U.S.
Marshals Office and the California Department of Justice remained on
scene. The investigation remains ongoing.