APPLE VALLEY – An indoor marijuana grow was discovered when deputies from the Apple Valley Station and fire personnel responded to a fire on Thursday morning.
At around 9:20 a.m., as fire officials arrived at the home and discovered downed power lines and a fire in the backyard of the home. The firefighters entered the home located at 11397 Saratoga Road in the Town of Apple Valley to ensure that there was no one inside the home and that there was no damage to the interior of the property, they located several hundred marijuana plants. The finding led to a search warrant which was served by the Sheriff’s Marijuana Enforcement Team (MET).
While searching a large-scale indoor marijuana grow with over 750 marijuana plants in various stages of growth were found inside the home. “The grow operation used advanced lighting, air conditioning, fans, exhaust blowers and an air-filtering system to control the climate inside the house as well as the odor coming from the residence,” Sheriff’s officials said in the news release.
The suspect or suspects were also found to be stealing electricity at the location to facilitate growing operation. Southern California Edison loss prevention responded to assist in the theft investigation. Oftentimes, those running a marijuana grow illicitly will bypass the electrical meter in order to conceal the high electricity usage to avoid discovery of the grow. Also, the suspects do not get charged the costs associated with running the operation. “The extreme measures taken to avoid being caught not only risks the lives of the suspects but also endangers the public living near the residence,” added Sheriff’s officials. “An electrical short caused by the modified wiring most likely would have resulted in an explosion or fire in the residential community causing possible injuries to bystanders near the residence.”
The investigation is ongoing by SCE who will send the report to the sheriff’s department. The electricity going to the home was disconnected so that the risks are mitigated and for the removal and/or repair to the wiring. The fire is believed to be a result of an overload of electricity passing through the power lines generating heat from electricity causing the lines to fail and fall apart. Evidence of this was the malfunctioning and melted line, which caused the line to fall into backyard shrubbery. Once the line fell, the fire was ignited.
Authorities are attempting to identify the suspect(s) involved. Once identified, the complete investigation will be sent to the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office for a criminal complaint against them. Anyone with information regarding this investigation or is urged to contact the Sheriff’s Gangs/Narcotics Division at (909)387-8400. Callers wishing to remain anonymous are urged to call the We-tip Hotline at 1-800-78-CRIME (27463) or you may leave information on the We-Tip Hotline at www.wetip.com.
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Image Sources:
- marijuana-grow-06012017: SBSD - Headquarters