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Pot-growing operation found in west SR home


By MARTIN ESPINOZA
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Published: Sunday, July 20, 2008 at 4:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Sunday, July 20, 2008 at 10:10 a.m.

Marijuana growers converted a west Santa Rosa home into an indoor pot farm crammed with so many plants there was no room left for anyone to live inside the house, police said Saturday.

Santa Rosa police arrested two men and seized 1,008 marijuana plants Friday at the house on South Wright Road. The owner of the rental home was not identified by officials.

Ordinarily, growers might convert one or two rooms to cultivate marijuana indoors, Santa Rosa Police Sgt. Ron Nelson said.

In this case, growers used the entire house to produce pot, he said. In addition, marijuana also was being grown in an outbuilding and in other locations outdoors that were obscured by large, plastic enclosures.

"To have a portion of property (outside) dedicated as well, that's significant," Nelson said.

Police said the home was not suitable for living in because of the extent of cultivation taking place inside.

Details of the marijuana-growing operation were revealed after Santa Rosa police narcotics investigators served a search warrant Friday at the property, located in a rural area along the 1400 block of South Wright Road.

Neighbors said they were not surprised by the raid at the house, which drew visitors at odd hours.

"We all suspected something was going on that wasn't aboveboard," neighbor Harvey Johnson said.

The growers took extreme measures to keep the property secluded by building a second fence and keeping the entry gate locked at all times, he said.

"It was obvious that it wasn't for security -- it was for privacy," Johnson said. "It's just strange that you have to go to those lengths."

Police arrested Harvey Lee Thompson, 50, and Nicolas Steven Portillo, 23, on suspicion of cultivating marijuana. Thompson appeared to be living in a trailer on the property, and Portillo is a Santa Rosa resident, police said.

Police put no estimate on the value of the plants nor how much money they could ultimately yield when fully grown.

Santa Rosa code enforcement officials, PG&E and the Santa Rosa Fire Department were called to the scene because of unsafe conditions at the home. The property was condemned because of numerous violations, and PG&E pulled the electricity meter to prevent an electrical fire.

The police environmental crimes investigation unit will be conducting a follow-up investigation with the property owner to safely dispose of potentially hazardous waste.

Staff Writer Tracie Morales contributed to this story. You

can reach Staff Writer

Martin Espinoza at 521-5213

or martin.espinoza@

pressdemocrat.com.


Comments

  1. hdlcx2 says...
    July 20, 2008 11:05:45 am

    RE: http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20080720/NEWS/807200415

    What would that be? Plant fertalizer?

  2. KtB says...
    July 20, 2008 2:09:42 pm

    All of the bulbs typically used for indoor grow operations contain mercury that can be released to the environment if broken. All of these bulbs are supposed to be treated as hazardous waste - never sent to the "regular" landfill! I am guessing they had a bunch (possibly some broken) located onsite.

  3. code30 says...
    July 20, 2008 5:26:32 pm

    So,

    How many people die everyday across our nation due to the usage and abuse of alcohol?

    How many people die everyday across our nation due to the usage and abuse of weed?

    Which one is legal?

    Violence associated with weed is almost always due to the protection of the crop, or the theft of the crop. So if it were legal, the small amount of violence associated with weed currently would all but vanish.

    It probably is a gateway drug, but who cares? Booze is a thousand times more dangerous and it's legal. Booze can cause violent behavior, crashes and all kinds of health problems. But it's legal. And if a person wants to smoke meth, they will smoke meth. It won't have much to do with their prior usage of weed.

    The law enforcement community uses these big busts to show the public we are "doing something about crime". This is a total waste of tax payer money.

    There are hundreds of thousands of plants in this area that local law enforcement will never know about. It is a war we can't win. We should not even fight this war any longer.

    While we are out protecting the tax payers from weed, we are letting major crimes go right on by.

  4. roncol31 says...
    July 20, 2008 7:35:18 pm

    Toad30-Santa Rosa's voice of reason?

  5. code30 says...
    July 20, 2008 8:14:48 pm

    To roncol31:

    Was that a compliment or a slam?

    I believe what I said has merit, or logic, or whatever. I don't claim to have all the answers, but I am pretty sure our nation's policy on this one is totally screwed.

  6. jenbme22 says...
    July 20, 2008 9:18:23 pm

    Tell me something...how often do we see METH LAB BUSTED IN SONOMA COUNTY? There are tweekers EVERY WHERE around here but we rarely hear about them being busted...bust the mellow stoners, but let the raping and pillaging meth heads run free!

  7. CensoredRepublicanAgain says...
    July 20, 2008 11:14:06 pm

    Sell the plants to the medical clubs and give the money to the police and fire departments!

  8. fknmooo says...
    July 21, 2008 12:09:52 am

    seems somebody has to be the voice of reason.It sure is obvious that our local governments are not the voice of reason.

    This is atleast a step in the right direction.

  9. raiderart1 says...
    July 21, 2008 6:31:21 am

    People don't die from this drug its the people that want to steal this drug & money..this type of growing is being done all over santa rosa walk that dog around.....

  10. raiderart1 says...
    July 21, 2008 6:33:53 am

    I call SRP about some selling drugs where we live. you have to leave a message nobody has call us back in a week ...so what does that tell you...

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