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Published Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2013 | 10:30 p.m.
Updated Thursday, Jan. 10, 2013 | 12:50 a.m.
A raid on a 3,600-square-foot home brimming with marijuana sent SWAT officers reeling Wednesday as they encountered an overpowering, lung-burning stench.
SWAT and narcotics officers arrived at the 3300 block of Trickling Stream Circle around 5:30 p.m. As they approached the home, Metro Police Officer Laura Meltzer said, two suspects were outside the home and tried to run away. The man and woman, each believed to be in their late 40s, were arrested.
It was unclear if the two owned the western valley home, located near Desert Inn and Fort Apache roads.
Once SWAT personnel breached the home, they were immediately overcome with a “respiratory irritant,” and were forced to retreat and suit up in hazmat-like suits, Meltzer said. Upon their return to the home, officers discovered around 1,000 marijuana plants.
In early October, Metro Police seized 109 marijuana plants worth an estimated $381,000. Several weeks later, Henderson Police seized more than 100 plants in a raid, valued at around $321,000.
Meltzer said Lt. Laz Chavez, the officer in charge of the investigation, was “shocked” by the amount of pot in the home.
“Almost every usable space is being utilized for marijuana,” she said.
Narcotics officers were just beginning their investigation around 11 p.m. and had not discovered any firearms but did find evidence of power theft, Meltzer said.
The machinery used in the growing of the plants will be destroyed, Meltzer said, and the marijuana impounded as evidence.
Meltzer said the two suspects will be charged once the investigation of the home is completed.
I have to laugh at the "estimates" of the value of plants. Does the higher amount impress the public or is that amount used to determine federal funding for drug raids?
Denver and Seattle will make Amsterdam look like Reno! ... or Gerlach...or Empire
Welcome to a better world.
what a joke. stop waisting tax payers dollars on this nonsense. there are plenty of criminals in this city to go after but i guess that would require some work. sounds like these 2 were a real threat to society. how many guns did they find? how many shots were fired at police?
Yeah sure, go ahead and keep legalizing marijuana. What is that stuff you smokers are inhaling? Was it called a "respiratory irritant?"
Yeah go ahead and enjoy your "high". See if you still think the same when you get older and you're gasping for air because of years of smoking that trash.
There goes my weekend.
Post a photo or i cant believe the story!
The respiratory irritant will come in handy when these guys are looking to increase their disability pay.
OMG!! Thank you Metro Military for saving us from a plant that kills nobody!! Thank you for wasting time and money and feeding more people to the prison industrial system. Thank you for, once again, nothing. Bchap must be christian, haha. They are the most hypocritical and judgemental.
BChap--Do you ever drink any alcoholic (in"toxic"ant) beverages?
NVEnergy and their smart meters teaming up with Metro to bust pot grow houses across the valley.
I didn't know Pot plants required heavily armed SWAT.
Quick the plants have pointy edges! OMG bring in the armored tanks!
Illegal is illegal. Clear the house and send the two lawbreakers to jail for 5 years. Then tell them to find reputable work. That should be enough time in the klink to not want to do that again.
Does anyone really not think the police should have gone after these guys? Regardless of your views on marijuana legalization? It sounds like these people were growing it in an area where they knew it was illegal, and they were stealing power to do it. Everyone complains about the hikes in our energy bills, this doesn't help things.
The legalization of marijuana is totally separate issue. Police were doing their job. Until we decide as a community to legalize, they need to enforce the law. Sorry if that sounds idealistic, or naive, but it's the right thing to do.
Soon the armed prison gangs will be set free because they were victims of the unjust system and they needed to make room for those who refuse to pay the ObamaCare Tax and those who grow pot!!
I could care less about all those "hillbilly hemp smokers" who love to inhale all those "lung-burning stenches" just for a cheap "buzz" that sooner or later destroys their respiratory systems. Go ahead, have a good time sitting up in your tree house smoking that weed.
I don't care about any of you. Does this now clear me of being a judgmental Christian?
Does anyone really not think the police should have gone after these guys?
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It's always the same. These "growers" are always caught doing something else illegal/wrong in the house. Either stealing power, not paying rent, squatting, storing weapons...."But they are just growing harmless plants," right?
Off with their heads!
Could this be a prelude to trick rollers who are teens who scout out the drinking drunks and lure them to a hotel room where the drunks money is stolen by the roller. The whole of society becomes a victim and a rescue squadron; not just those who participate in the livehood of being herbal horticulturists.
Thanks Metro! Many Mexican drug loads thank you for protecting their livelihood and the buzz & pharmaceutical industry also thanks you for dealing with the competition!
That's the "Booze" industry
"Officers Shocked!!" screams the story headline...what "shocks" me is that sin city, the gambling, boozing, whoring mecca of the world hasn't legalized marijuana.
My best guess is alcohol and gambling interests might feel threatened...however, restaurant revenues would probably skyrocket!
Like - $3,500/plant? That would pay for a very comfortable cruise in the Holy Land. The cruise would include stops in Istanbul to see the Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, the Bascilica Cisterns and up to 8000 years of history. The next of several stops might include Ephesus and Miletus, a stop at Tyre in Lebanon and then down to Haifa and Caesarea. If the shooting has stopped, it would be worthwhile to spend a couple days in Alexandria. The food overall is just incredible. With two plants I could take a friend. What a business.
Sunjon,
so I guess the big mystery of why folks grow and deal is out of the bag!
If you don't care about anybody, BChap, why post your comments? And no, you aren't cleared. You simply made it more obvious.
Legalize for recreational use. I need the closet in the spare room for other things besides a hydroponic grow station.
Another case of police wasting tax money and time on something that should be licensed and taxed.
More money will now be wasted in the legal (not justice) system.
Just more proof of how STUPID the US is, with stupid laws.
The US has twice as many people per capita in jail and ANY OTHER COUNTRY IN THE WORLD.
Obviously, there are more bad people in the US than any other country in the world.
Or is it that so called US freedom is just a lie?
Another case of police wasting tax money and time on something that should be licensed and taxed.
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Yeah, if it was your rental home and these "renters" were wrecking it in the name of "just growing a few plants"....I'm sure you would be out there "leave them alone". Try again. These 2 idiots aren't even American citizens (not that it makes much difference)...but the arrogance of foreign guests engaging in known criminal activity is reprehensible. Put them both in jail for 10 years. Then deport.
The house will likely be condemned as it suffers from fertilizer and mold damage. If some of you happened to be the unwitting owner of that rental house I'm sure you'll be the first to bail these guys out..right?
Metro is doing their job. Pot is illegal duh!!! Smokin a doobie too long? We had one of these pot houses in my neighborhood. They were dealing the stuff near a daycare. You legalizers can easily sit comfortably in front of your computer (you are obviously not smoking because of your written hostility) and freely give your opinions. People in the neighborhood have to live with the criminal activity around them and in our case the children. Burglaries, vandalism and traffic have gone down significantly. Yet, I'm not stupid and know they will be back. But, thankful to Metro and HPD for the small reprieve. Ya ya, legalize it tax it and it all goes away. Bla bla bla! Now if they could just catch and bust the dad sitting in his car with two small children waiting for his dealer to show up down the street. I wonder if he fed them today or hey maybe second hand weed smoke took the hunger pains away.
@TomD....Once again the ignorance of your argument is made clear, and by you none-the-less.
"Yeah, if it was your rental home and these "renters" were wrecking it in the name of "just growing a few plants"....I'm sure you would be out there "leave them alone".
As if that is an argument against legalization.
How many renters grow corn in their rental homes? None.
If it were legal, people wouldn't need to hide their endeavors in horticulture in suburban homes. The plant would be grown on farms or greenhouses.
Those who want to keep this plant illegal are the ones placing these enterprises smack dab in your neighborhoods. Those who want to keep pot illegal are the ones putting you at risk for power theft.
All so a bunch of high school drop-outs can dress up and play commando with your tax dollars.
Yeah, yeah..we all know you're a cop hater bghs1986. We all know you think they are all jack booted thugs. We all know you think these guys go to work every night to maim and kill for the thrill..
The only ignorant one is you. That is well known on these boards.
so has anyone from the sun, identify what, exactly was the shocking odor?
what is so shocking about an unidentified odor?
@TomD..."Yeah, yeah..we all know you're a cop hater bghs1986. We all know you think they are all jack booted thugs. We all know you think these guys go to work every night to maim and kill for the thrill.."
Sorry Tommy, if that's what you think then you are just plain wrong. I demand accountability and professionalism from law enforcement. I demand all cops at least finish high school. I demand the same from my kids. Does that mean I hate them too?
And while far too many police officers are guilty of escalating situations (the recent loud noise that sent them all running scarred for example), I don't believe that any cops heads to work looking to " maim and kill for the thrill."
However, having been lied to about how danger lurks at every turn and how the every member of the public is a potential cop killer, they far too often operate based on a training induced paranoia that far too often costs lives.
But we all know that you spend you life on your knees in front of law enforcement. I'm just surprised your arms are strong enough to type after all that trombone work.
Ah, BS. I've never once, not once ever seen you praise a cop for good work. Your whole mantra is "thugs", "paranoid gunslingers", etc, etc.
If I could find one single post where you praised a job well done I might cut some slack. You sir, are a cop hater. Your posts blanket the entire force. Please, sell the snake oil elsewhere.
@Tomm....I praise the work of cops when they deserve it. I have done so in the past and I will do so again in the future. Have you ever criticizes Metro for any of its failings? Have you expressed concern that the department condones dishonesty through its employment of documented liars. Have you expressed disappointment over the $40 million the department wasted on Desert Sky?
Sorry, to disappoint you, but I do not hate cops. I simply expect more from them than you do. I have too much respect for law enforcement to lower my standards as you have done.
I notice that while you are busy calling me a cop hater you fail to ever even challenge what I actually post about Metro. But that's the way with those who can't argue facts, the attack the person providing them
Call me cop hater all day, it doesn't change the dishonesty that has infected Metro. It doesn't change the numerous civil rights suits they have lost. It doesn't erase all the unarmed citizens they have shot in the back. All it does is make you look sad and desperate.
You've never praised them..period. Not one post. I searched. Don't even try and sell impartiality here. You don't have any. Maybe you've been on the wrong side of cops, maybe something went against you..but you certainly have never praised anything remotely related to anything they've done. You stating you do or have in the past puts everything else you say in question because, simply put you are lying about that part of your "defense." The only "sad and desperate" one is you.
In fact your number one statement about Metro is that every and any initial report from them is simply a lie. Then you claim you "praise the work of cops"? Sorry, you're delusional.
Posted on: Night Out event brings Henderson community, police together
Here's your response to something as innocent as a "police fair" in Henderson where an officer was offering a show and tell to a small child.
"SWAT Sgt. Todd Wellman said moments like that are what the nationwide anti-crime fair is about."
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Your response:
Yep, that's what it's all about. Sharing his toys with someone similar maturity level. Someone who can appreciate them in the same, juvenile way. Two boys playing with their toys.
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and you expect anyone to believe you praise police? Here you have the most innocent of actions of a policeman and you took the time to deride him. You don't even know him. Just lovely. As I said, Cop hater fits you to a T.
I hope I don't have to find a new supplier.
@TomD1228...Why do you label those who are critical of law enforcement "cop haters"? This paper is full of readers who discuss and criticize the president and congress. Do you label them "government haters"?
It isn't malicious to find fault with LVMPD. It isn't nasty to be vocal about their shortcomings and ask them to be better.
Why do you consider the desire to have an honest and accountable police force a negative thing?
It is obvious you have complete faith in law enforcement and you would never question their actions or authority. But most people are not like you.
Wow, you can find a post where I am critical of the over militarization oflocal police departments in this country. Considering I have made no secret of how I feel about this subject, you must fancy yourself quite the quite the detective.
And while I never once derided the police officers in this raid, I don't think there is anything INNOCENT about sending a bunch of SWAT officers armed as if their are about to take an insurgent stronghold in Fallujah into a residential neighborhood for the purpose of gathering plants.
In fact, my first comment here wasn't about the cops at all, but rather your ignorant comment that if pot were legal growers would still be hiding their farms in suburban rental properties.
Now if you want to call me an ignorance hater for pointing out yours, then I'll wear that badge proudly.
@Brooke
Had there been a "sprinkling" of a few posts acknowledging their good actions, I might find some impartiality in your discussion of law enforcement. There's a contingent that's trying to hide behind the "I praise or commend" police when in fact they don't...under any circumstance.
Note my post above about the guy who claims he has praised cops when I give him a totally innocent, good will post about an officer at a police fair and he chose to ridicule the cop. It just shows the bias. That's all. Are there bad cops? Sure. Are there some very hardworking cops? Absolutely. You wouldn't know that by reading bghs posts.
He didn't like that I pointed out his lie and now is trying to obfuscate the issue from his "I praise police" assertion to the now "needless" raid.
You want to discuss the issues. That's fine. I take exception to cop haters like bghs trying to claim they are fair and balanced in their assertions. He's the epitome of hypocrisy. He doesn't like Metro or the people that work there. That's fine. He can do as he pleases. Just don't come in here with an assertion that he has commended their actions...ever.
Not one single post commending police. 950 deriding them.
@TomD...The problem with making things up as you go is that the facts are out there to expose you for the liar you are. Maybe that's why you have such unwavering support of the LVMPD, you see your self in them.
"I take exception to cop haters like bghs trying to claim they are fair and balanced in their assertions."
That's nice, but I have never once claimed to be "fair and balanced" in my assertions. I have claimed only to be accurate in my posts. The facts I share about Metro are indisputable, that's why you spend time trying and distract readers with your false accusations.
"Not one single post commending police. 950 deriding them." Since I have only posted 596 comments you lie here is front and center. These 596 comments (not 950) include several that have praised Metro officers like Steve Custer, Lew Roberts and David Toney to name just a few.
I have also been very clear in my support of the North Las Vegas Police Department's efforts to hold officer's accountable as well as the fact that its officers very rarely kill people.
Make no mistake, I post these truths, not because I feel the need to justify myself to someone as clearly lost as you, but so I can hopefully educate you on how the facts can not be wished away.
Casting baseless aspersions upon those who speak the truth is the desperate act of a man desperate to hold on to a fantasy.
So this is what our local SWAT heroes do, bust 2 people in a pot house.
@TomD...I don't believe I have ever posted comments praising Republic Services but they do a fine job taking away my garbage. I don't believe I have ever written anything complimentary about the US Postal Service but I really like my mailman. Why must I praise police for doing their JOB? If I were to have interaction with a cop who helped me in some way I would thank him personally. I don't feel it is necessary to voice my approval for people doing no more than what we pay them to do. The next time I read a story about a cop going above and beyond in an exceptional way I will be sure to shower him with accolades.