Gross!
Four grow houses raided, six arrests, about $50,000 in cash seized, over 40 lbs. of bud, a bunch of hash, plants and a Dodge truck modded out as a weed machine! It looks like they caught the last house — the McK one — right in the midst of a pretty major deal.
From the APD:
GROW HOUSE SEARCH WARRANTS SERVED
The Arcata Police Department with the Humboldt County Drug Task Force and the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Department served four search warrants today concluding a two-month long investigation into citizen complaints of drug trafficking. Search warrants were served in the 1100 block of Larry Street, 1000 block of Sunset Avenue, and 1300 block of Beverly Drive in Arcata and the 1800 block of Fir Avenue in McKinleyville.
At the Larry Street residence, 33-year-old Kenneth Dru McCasland, of Arcata, was arrested for cultivation of marijuana, possession of marijuana for sale, and maintaining a drug house. Officers seized approximately five pounds of processed marijuana, twenty-five pounds of unprocessed marijuana, nearly an ounce of concentrated cannabis (hash) and $22,000 in cash. The electrical wiring in the home had been modified to facilitate an in-door grow. Building and Fire officials responded to the scene due to the unpermitted modifications and hazardous conditions in the electrical wiring. The electric meter was removed by Pacific Gas and Electric until the home’s electrical wiring is in compliance with building codes.
At the Sunset Avenue home, 35-year-old Arcata resident Jennifer Marie Sandoval was arrested for possession of marijuana for sale. Officers seized four pounds of processed marijuana and $1,200 in cash.
At the Beverly Drive residence, 36-year-old Arcata resident Christopher Lee Robinson was arrested for cultivation of marijuana, possession of marijuana for sale, and maintaining a drug house. Officers seized twenty-five pounds of unprocessed marijuana and $12,300 in cash. Unpermitted modifications had been made to the home’s electrical system in order to have an in-door marijuana growing operation. Building and Fire officials were called to the home due to the significant fire hazard. The electrical meter was removed from the home by Pacific Gas and Electric.
At the Fir Avenue home in McKinleyville, 27-year-old McKinleyville resident Paul Eugene Aragon was arrested for cultivation of marijuana, possession of marijuana for sale, and maintaining a drug house. 24-year-old Paul Dunnigan and 28-year-old Matthew Dunnigan both from Michigan were arrested for possession of marijuana for sale. Officers found a 2006 Dodge truck belonging to Paul Dunnigan inside the garage of the home. They discovered thirty-eight pounds of processed marijuana inside a hidden compartment in the truck. Four pounds of concentrated cannabis (hash) and $15,000 in cash were seized from inside the home. The Dodge truck was seized.
All suspects were booked at the Humboldt County Correctional Facility.
This article appears in Elrod’s Rule.
I’ve never really known how the cops figure street value, but my back-of-the-envelope calculations yield some large numbers: Let’s say the processed weed was going for $3,200 a pound (what I’ve heard good indoor costs). That would equate to more than $150,000 worth of weed. The hash — a quick Google search says $10 per gram is pretty low, but let’s go with it: That’s another $19,250. Then there’s the $50,000 in cash, and 50 pounds of unprocessed (not sure how to figure that). If my math is correct (and I’ll admit that’s a big "if"), we’re talking about close to a quarter-million-dollar bust.
Not to nit pick, but the $10 a gram quote is probably per gram on the street. One can assume the price would drop in quantity.
Glad to see Hank has a crack-troupe of street husslers on the payroll.
Your collective backgrounds seem to have proven handy.
Are we negotiating, Bob?
Are these busts all connected? Is "maintaining a drug house" a charge. Well… go powers that be. Glad to know a quarter million dollars was taken out of the local economy. Not like Humboldt needs it right? What was that unemployment stat again? But seriously, when the cops are done with the drug busts maybe they could come and remove the 6 urban campers currently living on my Arcata street.
Amateurs.