Marijuana Plants
Marijuana Plants in Grow House
Today, Detectives from the Special Investigations Unit executed a search warrant on a marijuana grow house in the 5200 block of NW East Piper Circle in Port St. Lucie, said Sheriff Ken J. Mascara.
“Intelligence gathered by our undercover narcotics detectives led to the identification of the house and through additional investigative efforts, a search warrant was obtained and executed, Mascara said. “In the end, an elaborate marijuana grow operation was shut down, removing this type of criminal element from our community.”
Three bedrooms in the house were converted into cultivation rooms and a bathroom was converted into a chiller room for climate and moisture control, according to Sheriff Mascara.
“In this grow house operation, as in most, electrical wiring and circuitry is manipulated to provide the power needed to cultivate marijuana,” Mascara said. “This creates a dangerous situation as outlets can become overloaded resulting in a fire.”
The Sheriff stated that the street value for the 145 plants found in the house estimated at more than $580,000.
“Operations such as this reduce property values and spawn additional criminal activities making neighborhoods unsafe,” Mascara said.
According to Mascara, Julio Cesar Hernandez Garcia, 29, of Davenport, Florida, was arrested and charged with trafficking and cultivating marijuana. He was booked into the St. Lucie County Jail. Hernandez Garcia lived in the house.
ABOUT THE SHERIFF:
The Florida Constitution establishes the Office of the elected County Sheriff who is responsible for preserving the peace, carrying out the orders of Florida courts and the Board of County Commissioners, and providing deputies at court sessions and meetings of the Board of County Commissioners. The Sheriff is the chief correctional officer of the county. Sheriff Ken J. Mascara is elected by the people of St. Lucie County and is accountable to them.
