Inside growers; CHECK YOUR EQUIPMENT EVERY DAY!

[POTUS]

Water Leak Leads to Massive Marijuana Bust in Connecticut

Saturday, January 12, 2008

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Overwatering your plants is never a good idea, especially if they're illegal.

Police were called to a three-family house in New Haven on Wednesday on a report of a water leak from a second floor apartment into the first floor. Firefighters responded to the apartment, where they say they found a large marijuana growing operation with a leaking watering system.

State and local police returned with a search warrant Thursday and found more than 331 marijuana plants with a street value of about $1.6 million, police said.

Mario J. Pena, 29, of New Haven, was arrested and charged with possessing marijuana with intent to sell, illegal cultivation of marijuana and operating a drug factory, state police said. He was being held on $1 million bond and appeared in court Friday. He did not enter a plea, court officials said. The public defender's office, which is representing Pena, declined comment.

 

[tiller08]

street value of about $1.6 million, police said. who makes up these street values you cant look at a plant and predict its value this stuff cracks me up if he is smart he should fight it as an illegal search and seizure

 

[Dubbaman]

whats really sick is many times when they "find" a big grow like that they trash and burn all the equipment and as many of us know for the "finished" product much of the weight will be lost, so your getting it in the end when they take in to account the roots stalks :shocked: soil and potter when they come up the insanity to start and then they like i said trash the evidence.

 

[Fretless]

The illegal search defense won't protect him in this case, I don't think... a water, fire, or electrical problem like that gives the landlord rights to enter his property to address the problem even without the tenant's precense or consent, as the whole building may then be at risk.

 

[HippyInEngland]

Grow for $$$ gain and you deserve what you get.

 

[octobong007]

hippy, you nailed it right in heart!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Puffin Afatty]

Hippy's got it right. I've been seeing the comercialization and criminalization go hand in hand for over 40 years. of course, prohibition of alcohol only lasted 17 yrs or so, but the same kind of bootlegging that led to the end of it may result. Legalization would put an end to all the commercial grows. RJ reynolds et al would see to that. Only the bigshot would be growing to sell, I would still have my little indoor cab and probably would expand to outdoor gardening as well.

It could very well result in the little guy being ignored in favor of busting the big grows, or LEO will take the low road and go for the small, easier to get, closet growers???

 

[tom-tom]

im sitting hear in front of the computer and watchin tv and i had it on fox news chanel and they just started talking about this story lol ,,,talk about wierd

 

[gangalama]

double check everything
Then check again!

 

[Kupunakane]

HGB has it right,
Devalue the stash, and a meriad of potential problems go away. Take the value off the smoke and evryone chills. I think that this will end up being the answer that unlocks the growing for us.
smoke in peace
KingKahuuna

 

[Pot Belly]

Overgrow the Black Market.

 

[That crazy vancouver guy]

OMG... that is ludicrous - their estimation of street value.... at 331 plants, that would put a value at $4,834/plant... HUH???... were these plants 20' high?

at any rate... given their estimation of the value of mj... that means I have, in my box right now, a crop worth $67,674 approx....

NOT!!!... hmmm.... maybe I should turn my whole house into a grow show... it would only take 1 time, and I could make myself approximately... let me think here now.... geez... I'm sure I could fit 600 to 700 plants in here, if not more. I should... I could be a multi millionaire by year's end.:hubba:

man, r those people clueless

 

[I'ma Joker Midnight Toker]

OMG... that is ludicrous - their estimation of street value.... at 331 plants, that would put a value at $4,834/plant... HUH???... were these plants 20' high?

at any rate... given their estimation of the value of mj... that means I have, in my box right now, a crop worth $67,674 approx....

NOT!!!... hmmm.... maybe I should turn my whole house into a grow show... it would only take 1 time, and I could make myself approximately... let me think here now.... geez... I'm sure I could fit 600 to 700 plants in here, if not more. I should... I could be a multi millionaire by year's end.:hubba:

man, r those people clueless

I won't give you a penny over $66,000....that's my final offer...

 

[Fretless]

Grow for $$$ gain and you deserve what you get.

I have to disagree. This guy is guilty of ruining a floor and some property, and guilty of some greed and lack of wisdom. But he's not going to deserve what he gets under unjust laws. I do see the logic to what you're saying - stick your hand in the fire, you get burned - and purely commercial growing (New Haven CT. is close to NYC with its massive economic pull) does contribute to the problem.
But a 29 year old pothead/grower doesn't deserve to be locked up with gangs, killers, rapists, for a number of years. No guns were there, this is not a violent criminal. This is a rogue farmer. May have been someone who couldn't hack a day job and went overboard with his hydro hobby.
Geez I sound like a defense lawyer

 

[rubbfuzz]

I think im gonna use the big corn field behind my grandmas house this summer. i could easily plant a few thousand plants. and in fall ill harvest and move off to amsterdam!

 

[EmeraldBlitz]

I have already licenced all the farming properties near me so i think i could get prolly 60,000 plants and retire in 6 months.... if i dont get locked up before for being a idiot

 

[Puffin Afatty]

yes the law is wrong, no argument with that. LEO has a job to do, like it or NOT. Being those sought, our job is to NOT get caught. make it easy, Dont tell and dont sell.

but Accidents do happen, here is an almost

a friend has a shed grow going at a buddies house in town, still very rural, but he had neighbors next door. the neighbor guy goes to burning some brush and the fire gets away from him. unfortunately, the wind was blowing across toward my buddies shed and the fire was quickly spreading in that direction.
Luckily, my buddies and I were drinking a few beers and blowing some smoke, kinda watching across the fence. We see what's happening, and quickly get his grow out of the shed and into the garage. I tell you, it musta looked like a silent slap stick comedy film. We were running in and out of his grow shed, carrying anything incriminating. Seemed like it took us an hour, probably only 5 minutes.
The volunteer fire department and my brother in-law the sheriff, shows up to help too. He sees me and my buddies sitting in lawn chairs drinking beer and comes right over to us. We assume it's about the shed of course, get seriously defensive and start to fluster a bit. Wrong, he comes over and asks us to hook up a hose and start spraying the brush to help control the fire from spreading. the fire got to the fence, about 30 feet from the shed but is controlled by the volunteer firefolks. the shed is left untouched. My bro in-law comes over and asks me what was in the shed that we were so worried about removing, and I told him it was just tools and stuff. Cryptically, he nods and says, yeah stuff, ok...

We about died laughing, but my buddy still has a grow going every season, same shed, same yard. :rofl: