While conducting sex offender compliance checks Wednesday, San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department deputies said a marijuana grow was found at a Hesperia home.
Deputies said marijuana was being grown in three bedrooms with electricity bypassed from the meter. San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Narcotics Team officials have taken over the investigation.
Deputies from the Victorville and Hesperia Sheriff's Stations were conducting sex offender compliance checks as a part of the nationwide, month-long crackdown on child maltreatment offenders called Operation Broken Heart.
Authorities said 10 percent of all registered sex offenders and 25 percent of all transient registered sex offenders within San Bernardino County reside within Victorville jurisdiction, and Wednesday's check was an effort to reach out to many of them and check that they were residing at the addresses listed for them. Authorities reported 285 of the roughly 330 offenders in Victorville actively register as living at an address.
Deputies conducted 49 compliance checks in Victorville and served three arrest warrants. One additional case was sent to the District Attorney’s Office for approval of an arrest warrant. Over the course of the month, authorities said Victorville Sheriff’s Station deputies completed 56 sex offender compliance checks, arrested one sex offender for a registration violation and sent two registration violation cases to the District Attorney’s Office for arrest warrants.
In Hesperia, 41 checks were conducted and five offenders were found to be out of compliance. Authorities said two were arrested.
Operation Broken Heart is occurring countywide throughout the month.