Deputies raid homes in pot busts

One grow house operation was much larger than the other, with plants valued at $225,000 on the street, authorities say.

By Molly Moorehead, Times Staff Writer
Published February 16, 2008

An elaborate marijuana grow house was discovered at 18736 Coats St. in Shady Hills this week, the Pasco Sheriff's Office said. Some 225 plants were seized at the house.
	[Pasco Sheriff's Office]

ADVERTISEMENT [Brendan Fitterer | Times] Pasco Deputy Rick Keller walks Jeffrey M. Mee to a patrol car in his driveway after his arrest Friday. A small fire at 4005 Reggie Drive, Holiday, revealed a small marijuana growing operation inside, authorities said. [Brendan Fitterer | Times] Sheriff's Deputy Bert Ferguson carries marijuana plants out of Mee's home. The fire was thought to have been caused by a bathroom fan, fire officials said.

The illegal marijuana trade took a hit this week when sheriff's officials raided two grow houses.

One, a sophisticated operation, contained a quarter of a million dollars worth of marijuana. The other, a low-level enterprise, almost went up in smoke.

Earlier this week, detectives armed with a search warrant raided a house at 18736 Coats St. in Shady Hills and found 225 marijuana plants. The plants, between 3 and 5 feet tall, had a street value of $1,000 apiece, sheriff's spokesman Doug Tobin said.

Power was being diverted from the house into a metal garage on the property where the plants were kept, he said.

No arrests had been made Friday.

That morning, a passerby in a neighborhood off Darlington Road in Holiday called 911 after seeing smoke coming from the house at 4005 Reggie Drive. There was indeed a fire, apparently caused by an electrical short in a bathroom fan, Pasco fire investigator Donald Campbell said.

But as firefighters searched for any people in the home, they discovered 10 or 15 small marijuana plants, along with grow lamps, in a spare bedroom, sheriff's officials said.

The grow operation was unrelated to the fire, and none of the plants burned, officials said.

Sheriff's deputies carried them out with rubber gloves as a gaggle of news photographers captured the action.

Jeffrey M. Mee, 24, the home's resident, was later led away in handcuffs. Campbell said he would be charged with cultivation of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and first-degree arson. The home's owner is Arthur Mee, according to county property records.

Anyone with information about these or any other grow houses are asked to call the Pasco County Sheriff's Office tips line toll-free at 1-800-706-2488.

Molly Moorhead can be reached at moorhead@sptimes.com or 727 869-6245.

[Last modified February 15, 2008, 21:45:27]