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Santa Rosa Pot Farm Discovered After Man Shoots Himself In Leg

SANTA ROSA (CBS SF) - A man who accidentally shot himself in the leg outside Santa Rosa prompted the discovery by police of an elaborate marijuana-growing operation, according a published report.

Sonoma County Sheriff's Sgt. Carlos Basurto told the Santa Rosa Press Democrat that 25-year-old Micah David Bigelow shot himself in the thigh while cleaning or fumbling with a pistol around 10:30 p.m. Tuesday night.

Bigelow had been staying in a trailer on a property at Calistoga and Gates roads just outside Santa Rosa city limits, according to Basurto. The gunshot caused significant injury but did not appear life-threatening, he said.

A man who witnessed the accidental shooting at the trailer called 911 and then drove Bigelow to Highway 12 and Calistoga Road to meet an ambulance and officer, Basurto told the Press Democrat.

Bigelow was not cooperative, and investigators who went to the property found several greenhouses and marijuana gardens, according to the report.

Nearly 1,000 plants, along with 250 pounds of processed marijuana were found, Sgt. Mike Raasch told the Press Democrat.

Detectives cited four people for suspected marijuana cultivation, according to the report.

"They claimed they were growing for a collective," Raasch told the newspaper. "But they didn't have documentation to prove the medical marijuana."

Bigelow was listed in fair condition Wednesday at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital.

(Copyright 2012 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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