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BURTON TOWNSHIP - - Nineteen huge marijuana plants,
confiscated earlier this week in a Hambden Township raid, resembled fluffy
decorative bushes leaning against a Geauga County sheriff's cruiser Thursday
morning.
Geauga County Sheriff Dan McClelland and Jeff Orr, commander of the
Trumbull, Ashtabula and Geauga (TAG) law-enforcement task force, say the
plants that were confiscated are some of the largest discovered in quite a
while.
Orr said TAG officers and deputies executed a search warrant at 13760
Chardon-Windsor Road, west of Route 608, at 3 p.m. Wednesday.
No arrest was made, as the suspect was cooperating with investigators.
McClelland said the man apparently is not considered a flight risk.
The bushy tall cannabis plants were ready to harvest. The suspect had the
equipment to process the plants, Orr said.
The search warrant was issued by Common Pleas Court Judge Charles Henry to
gain access to the property where the plants were growing. Orr said officers
used a neighbor's property, with permission, to spot the exact location of
the huge cache.
"The plants were in fairly plain sight behind the house. They were growing
outdoors in big pots with wires tied to nearby trees and staked to hold them
up," Orr said. "We also took some small seedlings growing," he said.
Marijuana can bring in up to $2,500 per pound on the street, said Orr.
TAG officers also removed weapons from the same house, including a Ruger
.44-caliber magnum handgun, a Model 77 .308-caliber rifle, several black
powder muzzle loading guns and a trail camera.
"The camera was trained on the growing plants, obviously to see they weren't
stolen," McClelland said. "We don't know who the suspect was selling to at
this time, but it was a big amount grown. It was not grown for personal use,
let's say," he said.
Officials said the investigation began two weeks ago when an anonymous note
as to the plants' location arrived at the sheriff's office. TAG officers and
deputies checked out the tip, McClelland said, and then executed the search
warrant.
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