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Police Notice Increase In Violent Pot-Related Crimes In Sonoma County

FORESTVILLE (KCBS)— Sonoma County law enforcement officials say they're increasingly involved with trying to solve a type of crime that barely existed a few years ago that centers around marijuana.

The slayings of three men on Tuesday in Forestville is just the latest in a string of drug-related crimes. According to investigators, the men were trying to buy a cache of pot when the deal apparently went sour.

Sonoma County Sheriff's Lieutenant Dennis O'Leary said there's been an increase in muggings, robberies and home invasions all centered on the pot trade. He said last year a man was killed at a grow location in Napa.

"There are a lot of people out there doing it; people travelling into our county committing these crimes. It's an issue and it's something we're dealing with constantly and looking into how to fix the problem," O'Leary said.

According to police, much of these pot crimes had originated in the north in Mendocino and Humboldt Counties.

Police Notice Increase In Violent Pot-Related Crimes In Sonoma County

It isn't yet known why the three men who were shot and killed met their fate the way they did. Autopsies are scheduled for Thursday. It is the deadliest case in pot-related crime Sonoma County has seen in a while.

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