Troopers find indoor marijuana grow operation

NEW WINDSOR -- A welfare check for a 7-year-old boy led troopers to discover an indoor marijuana growing operation at a house in the 15000 block of New Windsor Road, according to Maryland State Police.

Police found 14 marijuana plants, reflective panels, fertilizer, a fan and a grow light in the home's basement Thursday, said Trooper First Class Marty Speak.

A trooper, along with a case worker from Child Protective Services, went to the house after receiving a complaint that the house had drugs in it.

The person who filed the complaint expressed concern for the welfare of the boy, Speak said. After being invited into the home by a 37-year-old man who lived there, the trooper saw a marijuana smoking bowl on the living room coffee table. The man was arrested.

After obtaining a warrant, members of the county's Narcotics Task Force and a criminal investigator from the barrack searched the house and found the grow operation, Speak said. The plants were in the early stages of growth with the tallest ranging from a foot to 18 inches high.

Digital scales, a fourth of a pound of marijuana and packaging materials were found in the basement, he said. Additionally, troopers found marijuana and drug paraphernalia in two teenagers' rooms in the home.

The homeowner, a 34-year-old woman, came home during the search and was arrested, Speak said.

Police are not releasing the names of the two adults arrested, who were dating, nor the two teenagers who were not at the home when the warrant was executed. Charges against them will be applied for at a later date.

The 7-year-old boy was not at home when the warrant was served, Speak said. He is staying with relatives.

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