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Chicago - This was no dorm-style, one-stalk-in-the-closet operation.
The brothers Elli, whose modest Orland Township home contained some 500 marijuana plants, took their horticulture seriously, police said. Erin Elli, 30, and Joel Elli, 37, of the 11100 block of West 143rd Street, just outside of Orland Park, were charged Monday with unlawful production of cannabis, a felony punishable by up to 7 years in prison.
Acting on leads generated from other investigations, police raided the house Monday.
Orland Park Police Cmdr. Charles Doll said his department was working in conjunction with the Illinois State Police and that all of the narcotics were packaged and sent to the state crime lab.
"It was quite an elaborate setup," Doll said. "It was like a nursery with everything at a certain level of growth."
To the outsider, the property had an uninviting look in an otherwise well-kept area. A faded sign at the base of the long driveway reads, "Warning; guard dog on duty, please don't leave your car after dark!" The narrow gravel path that leads up to the blue house on a hill is covered in ice and surrounded by trees. But none of that stopped visitors from coming in droves, even after recent heavy snowstorms, a neighbor said.
A surreal visual payoff comes when visitors reach the top of the path. A 2-foot-tall pig-shaped lawn ornament lords over the back yard, standing upright just yards from a large teepee, covered in paintings of Native Americans on horseback.
A sign on the side door of the house reads, "Sorry, we're closed."
Police say the men went to great lengths to create ideal growing conditions for their plants, nurturing each seedling until it reached maturity and reserving different rooms of the home for each phase of development.
The brothers allegedly used growing lights, dehumidifiers and an elaborate watering and ventilation system to yield the finished product, which was strung from the ceiling in neat rows for drying, officials said.
While there have been other home-grown marijuana busts in the quiet community, this seizure was by far the largest in memory, Orland Park police said. Police did not immediately know the street value of the narcotics.
Judy Vuillaume, manager of Pops Italian Beef & Sausage, a popular fast-food restaurant near the Elli residence, said the brothers came to the eatery so often they wore a path between the two properties.
Even though they were known to have loud parties with live music, both men were generally good neighbors, Vuillaume said.
"They never bothered anybody," she said.
Neighbors did not know for sure what was taking place in the house, the old barn beside it or the garage right next to it, but some of them had suspicions, especially because of the number of cars entering and leaving each day.
Author: Jo Napolitano
Source: Chicago Tribune
Copyright: 2005, Chicago Tribune
Contact: https://www.chicagotribune.com/services/site/chi-printform.customform
Website: Chicago Tribune: Chicago news, sports, weather, entertainment - Chicago Tribune
The brothers Elli, whose modest Orland Township home contained some 500 marijuana plants, took their horticulture seriously, police said. Erin Elli, 30, and Joel Elli, 37, of the 11100 block of West 143rd Street, just outside of Orland Park, were charged Monday with unlawful production of cannabis, a felony punishable by up to 7 years in prison.
Acting on leads generated from other investigations, police raided the house Monday.
Orland Park Police Cmdr. Charles Doll said his department was working in conjunction with the Illinois State Police and that all of the narcotics were packaged and sent to the state crime lab.
"It was quite an elaborate setup," Doll said. "It was like a nursery with everything at a certain level of growth."
To the outsider, the property had an uninviting look in an otherwise well-kept area. A faded sign at the base of the long driveway reads, "Warning; guard dog on duty, please don't leave your car after dark!" The narrow gravel path that leads up to the blue house on a hill is covered in ice and surrounded by trees. But none of that stopped visitors from coming in droves, even after recent heavy snowstorms, a neighbor said.
A surreal visual payoff comes when visitors reach the top of the path. A 2-foot-tall pig-shaped lawn ornament lords over the back yard, standing upright just yards from a large teepee, covered in paintings of Native Americans on horseback.
A sign on the side door of the house reads, "Sorry, we're closed."
Police say the men went to great lengths to create ideal growing conditions for their plants, nurturing each seedling until it reached maturity and reserving different rooms of the home for each phase of development.
The brothers allegedly used growing lights, dehumidifiers and an elaborate watering and ventilation system to yield the finished product, which was strung from the ceiling in neat rows for drying, officials said.
While there have been other home-grown marijuana busts in the quiet community, this seizure was by far the largest in memory, Orland Park police said. Police did not immediately know the street value of the narcotics.
Judy Vuillaume, manager of Pops Italian Beef & Sausage, a popular fast-food restaurant near the Elli residence, said the brothers came to the eatery so often they wore a path between the two properties.
Even though they were known to have loud parties with live music, both men were generally good neighbors, Vuillaume said.
"They never bothered anybody," she said.
Neighbors did not know for sure what was taking place in the house, the old barn beside it or the garage right next to it, but some of them had suspicions, especially because of the number of cars entering and leaving each day.
Author: Jo Napolitano
Source: Chicago Tribune
Copyright: 2005, Chicago Tribune
Contact: https://www.chicagotribune.com/services/site/chi-printform.customform
Website: Chicago Tribune: Chicago news, sports, weather, entertainment - Chicago Tribune
