$10M in marijuana seized in local raids

[FruityBud]

East County is not only a great place to live, work and play, but it’s increasingly becoming a great place to grow dope in your home – at least until you’re busted.

Last week, county sheriff’s detectives seized more than 6,000 marijuana plants valued at $10 million that were being grown in homes in Antioch, Bethel Island, Brentwood and Oakley. In addition, detectives confiscated cultivation equipment worth several hundred thousand dollars, five vehicles, two assault rifles and a handgun, according to a press release.

The biggest haul was found in a home on Minaret Road in Oakley where nearly 3,000 marijuana plants were discovered. Police arrested Patric Cuspard, 36, and Philip Cuspard, 34, for cultivation of marijuana, possession of marijuana for sales and tampering with electrical lines. Ricky Atkinson, 32, was arrested for possession of marijuana. All three are Antioch residents.

The next biggest stash – 2,000 plants – was found in a home on the 500 block of Lakeview Drive in Brentwood. Daniel Davila, 36, of Antioch was arrested for cultivation of marijuana, possession of marijuana for sales, tampering with electrical lines and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

In Antioch, about 900 marijuana plants and five pounds of processed marijuana were discovered in a residence on the 4500 block of Mirror Court. Another 400 plants were found in a residence in the 1800 block of Mt. Goethe Way.

The final bust took place in a home in the 4000 block of Sandmound Boulevard in Bethel Island, where five pounds of marijuana was found. Police arrested Ronald Spears, 51, of Oakley for cultivation of marijuana, possession of marijuana for sales and probation violation.

“This investigation clearly demonstrates the criminal enterprise associated with the medical marijuana industry,” said Captain Daniel Terry of the Office of the Sheriff Investigation Division in a press release.

Police found the houses boarded up, given limited access, and equipped with high-wattage lamps connected to electrical power lines that were illegally tapped.

“Marijuana cultivation operations pose a significant risk to the community as well as a threat to first responders of law enforcement agencies and fire departments,” said Terry. “These firetraps are a danger to the occupants and neighboring residents.”

In the past few months, county sheriff’s investigations have uncovered five other cases of marijuana growing operations in homes in East County.

“It appears to be on the rise,” said Oakley Police Chief Chris Thorsen, although the bust at the house on Minaret Road is only the second marijuana-growing operation discovered in the city in his three-tenure as chief. “Both of those have been in the last 12 months or so. I have learned that’s been an issue that’s a little bit on the rise all over the place.”

Thorsen could not confirm that the growing operations are connected with medical marijuana clinics. “I don’t have any idea,” he said, but “they are getting their dope from somewhere.”

He also doesn’t know if the operations in boarded up houses have anything to do with the high number of foreclosures on East County homes.

“I don’t know the details on this Minaret house,” he said. “The last one was an absentee-landlord type of deal. I don’t know if that has to do with the foreclosures. But it would be interesting to know how many are rentals. I don’t know what the statistics are.”

When asked if the recent busts indicate a significant crime problem or an aberration, Thorsen said, “Crime is always a problem. We have only had two of them in my entire tenure. I won’t say it’s a crime wave, but it’s something we are paying attention to.”

Signs of a marijuana growing operation include a house with boarded up or covered over windows, emitting an odor of marijuana, and being visited once or twice a week although no one is living there. Authorities are also on the lookout for houses with unusually high PG&E bills due to the large electricity load required by the indoor plant lights.

“If (residents) suspect a marijuana operation in their neighborhood, they should call the police,” said Thorsen.

http://www.brentwoodpress.com/article.cfm?articleID=18769

 

[JeSus]

Another case of electricity stealing.

Im moving into a flat soon, and me and my brother will be having a few plants, the grow room also contains the electric meter, and the first thing he said to me was 'dont worry, ill bypass the meter' i just looked at him and told him thats the reason people get caught

 

[Fretless]

“This investigation clearly demonstrates the criminal enterprise associated with the medical marijuana industry,” said Captain Daniel Terry of the Office of the Sheriff Investigation Division in a press release.

“Marijuana cultivation operations pose a significant risk to the community as well as a threat to first responders of law enforcement agencies and fire departments,” said Terry. “These firetraps are a danger to the occupants and neighboring residents.”

“If (residents) suspect a marijuana operation in their neighborhood, they should call the police,” said Thorsen.http://www.brentwoodpress.com/article.cfm?articleID=18769

Some scary quotes. All indoor operations are a community hazard now, and concerned citizens should call police. I think I will invest in a carbon filter. Because this kind of propaganda is going to lead to small busts as well, ones we won't read about on the internet.
Commercial medical pot growers, selling to clinics? Or a slander, bent on associating the two? I don't know if its possible to completely separate the two issues, and I've always felt that some recreational proponents have been using the medical argument slightly disingenuously, weakening the medical argument considerably.
It's my understanding that Marinol is not always a good substitute, mainly because of it being a pill form, it has a slow onset and longer duration. Perhaps a Marinol derivative could be made for sublingual use.
But it seems to me that to argue legalization, you have to put all your eggs in one basket and argue recreational and medical together.

 

[Puffin Afatty]

It's my understanding that Marinol is not always a good substitute, mainly because of it being a pill form, it has a slow onset and longer duration. Perhaps a Marinol derivative could be made for sublingual use.
But it seems to me that to argue legalization, you have to put all your eggs in one basket and argue recreational and medical together.

I knew a cancer/aids patient in the early 1980's. He was prescribed marinol and said it didnt work to give him an appetite, but smoking a joint worked just fine. He also said he didnt get a buzz from the marinol, but I suspected it was tolerance, as he was smoking some excellent weed, all the time.

 

[POTUS]

The article was written by a person who would have qualified easily as propaganda minister for the third reich under Hitler.

It's full of half truths, pure lies and disconnected facts.

Even the costs associated with the plants. $1,666 per/plant?

We all know that different types of weed sell for different prices. There are thousands of threads on the subject in both this site and others that pin the street prices down to almost exact dollars. So why are the cops so naive about the actual costs? THEY AREN'T. The prices given are, as I said, pure propaganda.

The article is "Scare Mongering" at it's worst.

Hey you PIGS: If you hate something as much as you hate Marijuana, then make up a bunch of so-called facts about how bad it is for everyone and give costs that are way, way above the average persons income, and make it sound like pure evil.

That's the method the PIGS use. Are all cops PIGS? No. I've met a bunch that would laugh at the silly crap in that article and admit that it's nothing but propaganda being pushed by their money making propaganda superiors in an attempt to justify the BILLIONS AND BILLIONS of dollars being spent to sustain the propaganda supported police machine.

The police forces are no longer there to protect the people. They exist in most amounts to do nothing but support their own existence. It takes HUGE amounts of money to support the police machine. For every report, there is a piece of paper that must be bought...etc, etc, etc, ad infinitum.

The police exist to support the police machine. A small percentage of them actually DO something that helps people.

This article is a prime example of just how bad it's gotten. The police are becoming very, very similar to the NAZI storm troopers. They shove aside our freedoms in the name of "Protecting", they abuse their power in the name of "Protecting", they lie, cheat, steal, and harass the citizens while forwarding the lies of "Protecting the people".

**********
Ok, do you want me to tell you what I really mean? hehe

 

[JeSus]

The police forces are no longer there to protect the people.

Most truest fact ever.

I had my bike stolen once, and i found out who had it, and it was confirmed by friends who had seen him with it also. being a good citizen, i decided to go the correct way about it, and phone the police, instead of getting it myself. I rang them, told them my bike was stolen, and GAVE THEM THE ADDRESS of where it was, and the person who stole it. they said 'we'll look into it' and ever got back to me. ***? how much more could i of solved the crime for them? should i of painted the house bright red so they could find it easier? Idiots.

 

[Midnight Toker]

It's so stupid how cops exagerate EVERYTHING to make people who grow/smoke marijuana look like demons...worse than killers and child molesters. Whats gotten into our Justice system?? It's ridiculous!! Even if a plant was a seedling in a 12oz cup are they going to say it was a 5000$ Plant to? Pfft. I respect officers but there going to far. :rant:

 

[blunt]

not all cops are bad.i come from a long line of cops in my family. my father was a cop, my brother in laws are cops. my grandfather was a cop. all good people. i could tell you stories of people my father has saved and some of the sacrifices he has made during the course of his job. sure, a certain percentage of cops are bad, just like any other human. but i believe cops in general are good people just doing their job. cops dont make laws, they just enforce them.

 

[headband]

and this is where the system is wrong, the lawmakers which is supposedly the citizens, but it doesnt quite work that way, and never really have. to me this world is pretty much doomed. Are government is going out of control, thinks with its wallet more than the life of an actual person. All it needs is to pay its employee's, and theres thousands that we all pay taxes for, which are purpose less jobs. just my $ .02..
i donk know for instance a public defender, who doesnt care about the person, just the pay check, yaadada??

 

[POTUS]

cops dont make laws, they just enforce them.

Sorry man, but you're in the wrong place to discuss how nice cops are.

People who join the cops also join the group of people who make it their ambition to bust people like me.

No disrespect to your family man, but your own family would bust you in a heartbeat if their boss told them to.

They enforce laws that are unfair. Most of them enjoy it.

 

[Cook_]

The article was written by a person who would have qualified easily as propaganda minister for the third reich under Hitler.

It's full of half truths, pure lies and disconnected facts.

Even the costs associated with the plants. $1,666 per/plant?

We all know that different types of weed sell for different prices. There are thousands of threads on the subject in both this site and others that pin the street prices down to almost exact dollars. So why are the cops so naive about the actual costs? THEY AREN'T. The prices given are, as I said, pure propaganda.

The article is "Scare Mongering" at it's worst.

Hey you PIGS: If you hate something as much as you hate Marijuana, then make up a bunch of so-called facts about how bad it is for everyone and give costs that are way, way above the average persons income, and make it sound like pure evil.

That's the method the PIGS use. Are all cops PIGS? No. I've met a bunch that would laugh at the silly crap in that article and admit that it's nothing but propaganda being pushed by their money making propaganda superiors in an attempt to justify the BILLIONS AND BILLIONS of dollars being spent to sustain the propaganda supported police machine.

The police forces are no longer there to protect the people. They exist in most amounts to do nothing but support their own existence. It takes HUGE amounts of money to support the police machine. For every report, there is a piece of paper that must be bought...etc, etc, etc, ad infinitum.

The police exist to support the police machine. A small percentage of them actually DO something that helps people.

This article is a prime example of just how bad it's gotten. The police are becoming very, very similar to the NAZI storm troopers. They shove aside our freedoms in the name of "Protecting", they abuse their power in the name of "Protecting", they lie, cheat, steal, and harass the citizens while forwarding the lies of "Protecting the people".

**********
Ok, do you want me to tell you what I really mean? hehe

When they mean street value it means exactly that you dont know who the producer is your getting it off the middle man or farther down thats why pot is illegal it would be a chaos market if you opened up legalization every1 would be trying to make a quick buck off it it doesnt take a genious to grow good pot

 

[Cook_]

The article was written by a person who would have qualified easily as propaganda minister for the third reich under Hitler.

It's full of half truths, pure lies and disconnected facts.

Even the costs associated with the plants. $1,666 per/plant?

We all know that different types of weed sell for different prices. There are thousands of threads on the subject in both this site and others that pin the street prices down to almost exact dollars. So why are the cops so naive about the actual costs? THEY AREN'T. The prices given are, as I said, pure propaganda.

The article is "Scare Mongering" at it's worst.

Hey you PIGS: If you hate something as much as you hate Marijuana, then make up a bunch of so-called facts about how bad it is for everyone and give costs that are way, way above the average persons income, and make it sound like pure evil.

That's the method the PIGS use. Are all cops PIGS? No. I've met a bunch that would laugh at the silly crap in that article and admit that it's nothing but propaganda being pushed by their money making propaganda superiors in an attempt to justify the BILLIONS AND BILLIONS of dollars being spent to sustain the propaganda supported police machine.

The police forces are no longer there to protect the people. They exist in most amounts to do nothing but support their own existence. It takes HUGE amounts of money to support the police machine. For every report, there is a piece of paper that must be bought...etc, etc, etc, ad infinitum.

The police exist to support the police machine. A small percentage of them actually DO something that helps people.

This article is a prime example of just how bad it's gotten. The police are becoming very, very similar to the NAZI storm troopers. They shove aside our freedoms in the name of "Protecting", they abuse their power in the name of "Protecting", they lie, cheat, steal, and harass the citizens while forwarding the lies of "Protecting the people".

**********
Ok, do you want me to tell you what I really mean? hehe

When they mean street value it means exactly that you dont know who the producer is your getting it off the middle man or farther down thats why pot is illegal it would be a chaos market if you opened up legalization every1 would be trying to make a quick buck off it it doesnt take a genious to grow good pot