Two Locations, One Suspect In Early Morning Grow Raids (Updated) – November 10, 2011
APD officers load up a trailer with evidence from the H Street grow warehouse. Photos by KLH | Eye
Kevin L. Hoover
Eye Editor
ARCATA – Arcata Police barged into three cannabis grows last Wednesday and Thursday, arresting people and taking their marijuana crops away for evidence.
On Wednesday, Nov. 9, in response to neighborhood complaints, APD officers served a search warrant at a residence at 2034 Fredrick Avenue, a house owned by Ralph M. Nelson and Emma F. Nelson of Eureka. There they found two separate marijuana growing operations inside the home.
An APD press release said the first grow was within current guidelines for medicinal marijuana cultivation. The second growing operation was determined to be a “for profit” cultivation and not in compliance with current guidelines. The growing plants and cultivation equipment were seized.
Sixty-eight growing marijuana plants, nearly five pounds of processed marijuana, $3,500 cash, over three ounces of concentrated cannabis and one firearm were seized from the home.
Four subjects were arrested in connection with the warrant: Willard Remington, 20, of Arcata, on charges of cultivation of marijuana, possession of marijuana for sale and possession of concentrated cannabis; Madeline Grace Arnold, 18, of Arcata on charges of possession of marijuana for sale and possession of concentrated cannabis; Christopher Marcus Barnes, 40, of Berkeley, on charges of possession of concentrated cannabis; and Christopher Andrew Simpson, 28, of Arcata, on a charge of probation violation.
Daniel O'Brien is led away in handcuffs. KLH | Eye
The next day, two for one
A small caravan of Arcata Police vehicles departed Thursday morning at 7:30 a.m. from the City Hall parking lot. Their first stop was 840 A Street, where, in response to neighbor complaints, a suspected grow house was raided.
Among the things neighbors noticed was this a pickup truck parked outside, its bed strewn with perlite soil amendment and bags containing cannabis root balls.
There, APD says officers discovered a large marijuana growing and processing operation inside the home. They seized 405 growing marijuana plants, nearly 15 pounds of processed marijuana and a large amount of cultivation equipment from the home.
Daniel Raymond O’Brien, 30, of Arcata was arrested and booked into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility for alleged cultivation of marijuana, possession of marijuana for sale and maintaining a house for the manufacture of a controlled substance.
APD Det. Sgt. Todd Dokweiller said the house was pre-wired for cannabis cultivation, with electrical subpanels installed in the rooms.
The unkempt 840 A Street house.
He said the home’s garage holds a studio apartment with a bathroom and loft. “Ten years ago, a student would have lived in it,” Dokweiler said. Now, he noted, it’s much more profitable to use the same space for cannabis growing.
As with many other grow houses, non-cultivated space was neglected and messy. A view of the kitchen through the open front door offered a view of piles of papers, an open bottle of Seagram’s 7 Crown whiskey and a bong. Cupboards contained large ziploc bags stuffed with cannabis buds.
The view through the front door.
As officers processed the scene, neighbors came over to thank them for raiding the smelly, unkempt house. Property records list the house’s owner as Robert K. Eckart of Arcata.
The house is next door to two homes once occupied by well-known, now-deceased Arcatans – “Orick” Johnny Antonioli and Albert Knapp, Arcata’s Patriotic Legend.
After O’Brien was led away in handcuffs, his pit bull Izzy was prepared for transport to the county animal shelter. The large, old pit bull was clearly frightened and confused as officers used a catchpole to transfer him to a cage.
Further information led officers to an industrial building at 105 lower H Street. After prying the door open, officers found two rooms built within an industrial space, the rooms housing an elaborate commercial marijuana growing site.
A frightened and confused Izzy is caged for transport to the county animal shelter.
The cannabis had recently been harvested, but more than 169 harvested marijuana plants were located drying in the building.
Police say the industrial building, which is owned by Kenneth L. Francis of Greenview, Calif., was being used as the primary cultivation site, with the residence on A Street serving as a processing location.
Officers seized 169 drying marijuana plants and 22 grow lights, along with other miscellaneous equipment used in the cultivation operation from the H Street location. The floor of the building was strewn with O’Brien’s personal property and papers, including veterinary bills for Izzy.
The cannabis, grow lights and ballasts were loaded onto a flatbed trailer for transport to APD’s evidence locker.
The lower H Street grow warehouse.
Dokweiler said cannabis growers are typically financed by unknown backers, who enjoy some profit-sharing arrangement. Once the case is adjudicated, the backer often bankrolls the grower in a new cannabis cultivation operation.
APD’s Special Services unit has a list of 10 to 15 other suspected grows it plans to search in weeks to come, Dokweiler said.
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Note: Below is the original, less detailed story posted immediately after last week’s grow busts. – Ed
Kevin L. Hoover
Eye Editor
ARCATA – A small caravan of Arcata Police vehicles departed Thursday morning at 7:30 a.m. from the City Hall parking lot.Their first stop was 840 A Street, where, in response to neighbor complaints, a suspected grow house was raided.
There, APD says officers discovered a large marijuana growing and processing operation inside the home. They seized 405 growing marijuana plants, nearly 15 pounds of processed marijuana and a large amount of cultivation equipment from the home.
APD Det. Sgt. Todd Dokweiller said the house was pre-wired for cannabis cultivation, with electrical subpanels installed in many of the rooms. Property records list the owner as Robert K. Eckart of Arcata.
Further information was discovered that led officers to an industrial building at 105 lower H Street. After prying the door open, officers found two rooms built within an industrial space, the rooms housing an elaborate commercial marijuana growing site. The cannabis had recently been harvested, but more than 169 harvested marijuana plants were located drying in the building.
Police say the industrial building, owned by Kenneth L. Francis of Greenview, Calif., was being used as the primary cultivation site, with the residence on A Street serving as a processing location.
Officers seized 169 drying marijuana plants and 22 grow lights, along with other miscellaneous equipment used in the cultivation operation from the H Street location.
Daniel Raymond O’Brien, 30, of Arcata was arrested and booked into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility for alleged cultivation of marijuana, possession of marijuana for sale and maintaining a house for the manufacture of a controlled substance.
