MAN KILLED IN POT BUST

2 Suspects Escape After Deputies Fired at in Raid

LYTLE CREEK - Members of a drug task force shot and killed one man and
launched a manhunt for two others after they discovered an outdoor
marijuana farm containing about 3,000 plants.

Deputies from the Campaign Against Marijuana Production - a group of
local and federal law enforcement officers - were forced to open fire
when one of the men guarding the farm shot at them, San Bernardino
County sheriff's officials said.

All three men at the site were wearing military camouflage clothing,
deputies said.

"There was a shotgun found by the suspect as well as other firearms
found at the campsite," said sheriff's spokeswoman Jodi Miller.

The 11-member CAMP team - comprised of San Bernardino and Riverside
sheriff's deputies, as well as from the Drug Enforcement
Administration and the U.S. Forest Service - headed to the camp about
5:30 a.m. After about a half-mile hike, they found water lines and
evidence of people living at the farm.

The group began hearing noises while preparing to remove the 2,000 to
3,000 plants worth an estimated $6 million to $9 million. Miller said
officers called out, announcing that law enforcement officers were
present.

One of the people living at the farm climbed up a hill, aimed down at
task force members and opened fire. Officers returned fire, striking
the man. No members of law enforcement were wounded.

The wounded man was flown to the Lytle Creek Ranger Station where he
was pronounced dead about 9 a.m., Miller said.

About 40 officers from various agencies descended on the area south of
the ranger station, trying to find the men who fled the pot farm. They
were both believed to be armed.

Helicopters dropped San Bernardino sheriff's SWAT team members onto
the mountain side, where they planned to search the area and establish
the boundaries where the men could have fled.

The marijuana farm is near San Sevaine Ridge, north of Fontana and
south of the Lytle Creek Ranger Station.

"It's so steep, most people wouldn't be going up in there," said Pam
Bierce, spokeswoman with the U.S. Forest Service.

It was an area previously used by hunters, but has been closed since
the Grand Prix Fire due to burned trees, Bierce said.

The marijuana plants weren't expected to be removed until sheriff's
homicide detectives completed the investigation into the
officer-involved shooting.

Meanwhile, residents and other motorists headed to Lytle Creek on
Monday morning had to turn around or wait because officers set up a
road block on Sierra Avenue north of the 15 Freeway.

Anna Sorum, a contract employee with the U.S. Postal Service, parked
her car by the roadblock, unsure how she was going to make her
delivery to the Post Office. Her Ford Explorer was filled with letters
and packages.

"It's a major inconvenience for anyone expecting mail and medication,"
Sorum said.

Officers reopened the road to residents just before noon.