Mountain View man injured in pot farm shootout Mountain View man injured in pot farm shootout (August 12, 2005)

By Jenny Baer

Mountain View resident and California Fish and Game warden Kyle Kroll was shot in the legs Friday during a shootout with men guarding a three acre marijuana farm in an obscure region of Santa Clara County, officials reported. One of the men protecting the farm died during the raid.

Santa Clara County Sheriff's Deputy Terrance Helm said people guarding the marijuana farm ambushed the warden in a sudden eruption of gunfire around 7 a.m. last Friday. During the battle, a bullet went through both of Kroll's legs. He is being treated for the wound at the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in San Jose, and already underwent successful surgery, according to the department.

Over 10,000 4- to 5-foot plants were discovered on the farm, located in a remote area on the east side of Mount Umunhum. Authorities suspect that a Mexican drug cartel was running the farm, and that they had stationed the guards to shoot anyone they saw.

One suspect died at the scene of the shootout soon after Kroll was airlifted away. Another suspect remains at large, and sheriff's SWAT team members in camouflage were dropped into the steep and wild terrain via helicopter to search for him.

"The manhunt is still ongoing," Helm on Tuesday.

Authorities said the danger of the manhunt and the difficulty of the terrain slowed efforts to rescue the wounded suspect as well as Kroll.

E-mail Jenny Baer at jbaer@mv-voice.com

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