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Call to 911 brings unwanted scrutiny
By CARRIE JOHNSON, Times Staff Writer HOMOSASSA -- A word to the wise: Don't dial 911 if you don't want deputies to show up at your house. Jeffrey Alan Marksteiner probably wishes he heeded that advice before testing his phone by punching the three familiar numbers and hanging up about 7:30 p.m. Thursday. As required with every hangup, emergency dispatchers sent a patrol car to Marksteiner's residence to ensure nobody was in distress. When a Citrus County sheriff's deputy knocked on the door, Marksteiner explained he was only having trouble with his telephone and wanted to see whether it was working. Deputy Kevin Brunk said he would still have to look around. Marksteiner let him in, and Brunk immediately spied a glass pipe on the couch, according to a report. Next, Brunk looked in Marksteiner's bedroom, where he found another glass pipe and a bag filled with a green leafy substance, believed to be marijuana, the report said. Brunk noticed a strange glow coming from Marksteiner's closet. When he peered inside, Brunk found a large box covered with blankets with a light shining inside. Through a crack in the side, Brunk said he could see a marijuana plant, the report said. The deputy opened the lid and found eight plants. Marksteiner, 24, of 6855 W Doris Marretta Lane was arrested on charges of marijuana possession, possession of paraphernalia and cultivation of cannabis. He remained at the Citrus County jail on Friday, where authorities held him in lieu of $2,500 bail. As Brunk was slipping on the handcuffs, Marksteiner told him he grew the marijuana for his personal use, according to the arrest report. The suspect said he didn't see anything wrong with smoking marijuana when he got up in the morning and before going to bed, the report said. -- Crime reporter Carrie Johnson can be reached at 860-7309 or cjohnson@sptimes.com.
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