Ron Strider
Well-Known Member
Narcotics detectives seized over 200 marijuana plants and over $11,000 in cash Wednesday in a raid on a Warren Street home that followed a traffic stop on East Street.
The home, police said, was the site of a large marijuana growing operation. Two men were arrested and are being held on bail.
The investigation began around 4:14 p.m., when detectives pulled over a car on East Street near Sewall Street for an expired registration, said Lt. Mike N. Brennan.
Sgt. Daniel J. Valadas said the detectives searched the vehicle, finding over two pounds of packaged marijuana, a small number of Percocet pills, over $5,000 in cash, and marijuana edibles, oils and growing equipment.
Detectives then obtained a search warrant "based on probable cause" for a single-family home at 10 Warren St., Valadas said.
There, Valadas said, narcotics detectives, patrol officers and a K-9 officer found the growing operation, "consisting of two floors and multiple rooms, along with a large amount of lighting and heating equipment."
Police seized over 200 marijuana plants, over $11,600 in cash, a "pistol-type pellet gun" and two swords.
The home was not occupied at the time of the search, Brennan said. Officers forced a door open.
The two men in the vehicle stopped on East Street were each charged with several drug offenses.
Chicopee resident Kelton Westley, 32, was charged with marijuana-related crimes: possession of a Class D drug, possession of a Class D drug with intent to distribute, and a felony count of marijuana trafficking. He was held on $25,000 cash bail.
Springfield resident Joel A. Torres, 26, was charged with the same marijuana offenses as Westley. He faces an additional count of possession of a Class B drug in connection with the Percocet pills. He was held on $15,000 cash bail.
Courts are closed Thursday for Thanksgiving.
While neither of the men were charged with weapons offenses, Brennan said the pellet gun and swords were seized as "weapons associated with narcotics activity."
"Those weapons are hard to discern from real firearms," Brennan said of the pellet gun.
Neither of the suspects are listed in town records as an owner of the Warren Street home. Brennan said one of the suspects was "directly related to the address."
Under the law legalizing recreational marijuana passed by Massachusetts voters in November 2016 and updated by state lawmakers earlier this year, people 21 and older can grow up to 12 marijuana plants in a home.
Retail marijuana stores are expected to open in the state in 2018.
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Ludlow detectives seize over 200 marijuana plants from Warren Street home, police say | masslive.com
Author: Greg Saulmon
Contact: Contact Us - MassLive Media Solutions
Photo Credit: AP Photo
Website: Massachusetts Local News, Breaking News, Sports and Weather - MassLive.com
The home, police said, was the site of a large marijuana growing operation. Two men were arrested and are being held on bail.
The investigation began around 4:14 p.m., when detectives pulled over a car on East Street near Sewall Street for an expired registration, said Lt. Mike N. Brennan.
Sgt. Daniel J. Valadas said the detectives searched the vehicle, finding over two pounds of packaged marijuana, a small number of Percocet pills, over $5,000 in cash, and marijuana edibles, oils and growing equipment.
Detectives then obtained a search warrant "based on probable cause" for a single-family home at 10 Warren St., Valadas said.
There, Valadas said, narcotics detectives, patrol officers and a K-9 officer found the growing operation, "consisting of two floors and multiple rooms, along with a large amount of lighting and heating equipment."
Police seized over 200 marijuana plants, over $11,600 in cash, a "pistol-type pellet gun" and two swords.
The home was not occupied at the time of the search, Brennan said. Officers forced a door open.
The two men in the vehicle stopped on East Street were each charged with several drug offenses.
Chicopee resident Kelton Westley, 32, was charged with marijuana-related crimes: possession of a Class D drug, possession of a Class D drug with intent to distribute, and a felony count of marijuana trafficking. He was held on $25,000 cash bail.
Springfield resident Joel A. Torres, 26, was charged with the same marijuana offenses as Westley. He faces an additional count of possession of a Class B drug in connection with the Percocet pills. He was held on $15,000 cash bail.
Courts are closed Thursday for Thanksgiving.
While neither of the men were charged with weapons offenses, Brennan said the pellet gun and swords were seized as "weapons associated with narcotics activity."
"Those weapons are hard to discern from real firearms," Brennan said of the pellet gun.
Neither of the suspects are listed in town records as an owner of the Warren Street home. Brennan said one of the suspects was "directly related to the address."
Under the law legalizing recreational marijuana passed by Massachusetts voters in November 2016 and updated by state lawmakers earlier this year, people 21 and older can grow up to 12 marijuana plants in a home.
Retail marijuana stores are expected to open in the state in 2018.
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Ludlow detectives seize over 200 marijuana plants from Warren Street home, police say | masslive.com
Author: Greg Saulmon
Contact: Contact Us - MassLive Media Solutions
Photo Credit: AP Photo
Website: Massachusetts Local News, Breaking News, Sports and Weather - MassLive.com
