DAVID MACLEAN What began as a call about someone stealing clothes and wearing them, turned into an arrest for marijuana cultivation, burglary and possession of an illegal animal. Mariposa County Sheriff’s deputies went to an address on Cole Road on April 10 and found much more than they bargained for.

The victim told deputies that when he went to the property where he used to live and some property was still stored, he saw that the front gate had been removed from its hinges, and the locks were missing.

The suspect, David Maclean, was wearing a leather jacket that belonged to the victim. There were also marijuana plants growing on the property. Maclean became confrontational, so the victim left to call 911.

When deputies arrived, Maclean took off the jacket and gave it to them. He said he found it in one of the trailers on the property. He also admitted to “borrowing” some cds, and had a camera, tools and a photo book that belonged to the victim.

Deputies asked Maclean how many marijuana plants he was growing. He said “about 400” and then explained the growing process in detail. He said he was awaiting his prescription so he could get his “cannabis card.” Even though he knew it was illegal to grow pot without a card, Maclean said he had a pending doctor’s appointment in Fresno and “knew he was going to get a card.”

Deputies found a gallon sized zip-lock bag containing marijuana buds. They opened a small refrigerator door and smelled “an intensely pungent odor of a rotting animal.”

Maclean said the raccoon was in the freezer because he had hit it with the car in Washington state before he got to Mariposa. He intended to make it into a coon-skin cap, but had forgotten about it.

Maclean told the deputy he also had a ferret in the bathtub and didn’t know what to do with it if he was going to jail. The ferret was seized by the Department of Fish and Game.

Maclean said that while he was the primary grower in the operation, two of his friends were partners. He was arrested and charged with cultivation and possession of marijuana, possession of stolen property, burglary and possession of an illegal animal.