Sonoma County Man Arrested For Alleged Murder at Marijuana Grow Site

Mendocino County sheriff’s deputies have arrested a Cloverdale man and a Ukiah man on suspicion of killing a man at a marijuana grow site on Sunday.

Isidro Lopez-Bernal, 26, of Ukiah, and Mario Godinez, 25, of Cloverdale, pictured above, were arrested at different locations in Cloverdale, Mendocino County sheriff’s Capt. Greg Van Patten said.

Both were booked Tuesday in Mendocino County Jail in lieu of $500,000 bail on suspicion of murder and robbery.

Godinez also was booked for illegal entry, according to the jail’s booking log.

The marijuana grow containing about 200 plants was located in a remote wooded area near the 37000 block of state Highway 128 in Yorkville in southern Mendocino County. It appeared to have been established as a result of a trespass on private property, Van Patten said.

The victim, whose name has not been released, was found dead near the marijuana grow, Van Patten said.

A 25-year-old man also was found there with multiple gunshot wounds that are not considered life-threatening. He was flown to a hospital in another county and his role in the case is still under investigation, according to Van Patten.

A person had called the sheriff’s office at 7:18 a.m. Sunday to report a possible shooting. The caller had received a cellphone call from the injured 25-year-old man, who said he was shot at a marijuana garden, Van Patten said.

Deputies located the injured man by calling his cellphone, then searched the area and found the marijuana garden in mountainous terrain, as well as the dead man nearby, Van Patten said.

--Bay City News; Image via Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office