They just busted the neighbor!!! (was titled "Sherrif's officer is back")

[SeattleGirl]

My first post on this:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=105&topic_id=4970727&mesg_id=4970727

About 2:30 this afternoon, the sherrif's officer who was using our driveway the other day to stake out one of our neighbors, showed up. Today, she's sitting on our deck, which looks down over the neighbor's house. There are two other officers out on the main road again.

Edited to change thread title and to add:

About 45 minutes after Officer Kristi showed up, I heard some noise outside. There are three or four sherrif's vehicles on the road in front of the neighbor's house. They finally busted him.

[In_The_Wind]

1. Are you serving tea?

[SeattleGirl]

2. We offered on Saturday when she was here, but she brings

her own food and beverages. She's a considerate guest. B-)

[benburch]

3. Ask her to let you know if there is likely to be any shooting...

then you can hide in the bathtub...

[SeattleGirl]

4. No shooting....he's been arrested.

Now the clean-up -- hauling out all the marijuana plants.

[benburch]

5. Damn.

I haven't had any weed in YEARS. Miss it.

[SeattleGirl]

7. I don't miss is. I stopped years ago because I started

getting sick to my stomach and getting headaches when I used it, so I had to stop.

[uncle ray]

37. probably from smoking shitty imported weed.

having a good grower that cared about his crop like your neighbor probably could have helped.

[SeattleGirl]

39. I don't think so. Just think my body got to the point where it

just didn't care for it. Sort of like former cigarette smokers who cannot stand the smell of it, whereas they used to love it. I don't miss it at all.

[Beaverhausen]

6. wonder what will happen to all his plants?

:hippie:

[SeattleGirl]

8. Party at the Sherrif's Department?

:rofl:

[jukes]

65. apsitively!

some of those buds will never make it to the evidence room.

makes me miss the JOB...

[Wapsie B]

9. Lucky he was growing pot

and not a meth lab. Those meth heads are nuts. Glad that he's arrested.

[SeattleGirl]

10. That's the first thing I asked the officer, whether it was meth.

I just watched a show on MSNBC or CNN the other night about the effects of meth on the "innocent victims" -- the cops who busted the labs before the HAZMAT days, the children, even people who moved into houses that used to be meth labs and were never thoroughly cleaned up. Oh God, but it's such nasty stuff.

[Wapsie B]

11. Oh yeah those labs are dangerous.

Those chemicals are so strong. That's why it's bad out here too. They can rent these farm houses out in the middle of nowhere to cook meth. Happens all too often.

[schrodingers_cat]

34. Where I live, it has to be disclosed to the buyer if a house on the market

was ever used as a meth lab. That and termites and mold.

[SeattleGirl]

40. Unfortunately for the couple in the documentary, it was not

required. They can't live in the house, and they can't sell it because they can't afford the cost for properly and safely cleaning it up. I think informing someone of something like that should be mandatory in all states.

[jukes]

66. ether

is the main cause of fire/explosion in meth labs.

most meth is imported these days. the "meth-scare" is 1 more tactic in the ridiculous "war on Drugs" (tm)

[wain]

12. This won't happen in my neighborhood

The township police chief lives across the street and the borough police chief lives around the corner. Any troubles in this neighborhood, the cops can do their stakeout at their boss's house!

Happy to hear all ended well, except for the professional gardener down the street from you. Thanks for the update.

:popcorn:

[SeattleGirl]

15. Actually, there IS a Sherrif's officer who lives just around the

corner from me. The officer who's been at our house said that sometimes officers don't like to get involved in things in their own neighborhood. I also wonder if he knew anything about this, because he works for the Sherrif's office in the city of Burien; we're in Seattle.

One good thing, though, about this officer living around the corner: he drives his squad car to and from work, so it had kept things relative safe and quiet here.

[Oeditpus Rex]

13. Ask Ossifer Kristi

if you can have a souvenir of the event. :evilgrin:

[SeattleGirl]

16. So I can pass it on to you?????

:rofl:

[Oeditpus Rex]

19. Mmmm...

I ain't sayin'.

[LaurenG]

14. Wow a stake out at SeattleGirls house!

I'm glad it all went ok.:hi:

[SeattleGirl]

17. Me too.

I mean, if the guy was growing a couple of plants for private recreational use, I wouldn't give a dang, but hundreds of them? That's a different story. He may be quiet and keep to himself, but no telling what some of his "associates" are like.

[Book Lover]

18. Shame the manpower is wasted on a pot grower (nm)

[SeattleGirl]

20. We're not talking about a couple of plants for personal use

We're talking well over 500 plants.

[Book Lover]

22. So?

He grows for those of us who can't. Has his activity been detrimental to you?

[SeattleGirl]

24. I really don't want to get into a back and forth over pot use

It always seems to get so heated. This didn't happen in your neighborhood. Maybe it wouldn't make any difference to you if it had, but it bothers me. Different strokes, I guess.

[Book Lover]

25. OK

I just wonder if you are more bothered by the fact that the cops were on your property for a few days than the fact that this guy was growing pot commercially. But you're right - different strokes.

[SeattleGirl]

26. It didn't bother me that there was an officer using the property

for surveillence. First off, she came to the door and introduced herself. She was extremely nice, and respectful. She spent most of the time in her vehicle, or, as with today, on our deck which overlooks the neighbor's house. I talked to another one of the officers today, when I went outside to take the dog for a walk, and he was really cool too. In fact, he told me that, speaking as a citizen and not as a Sherrif's officer, he could care less if people smoked pot recreationally. But of course, an operation like the neighbor had was a totally different thing to him.

[Book Lover]

28. Thanks for your reply

But since we don't want to get into a debate over pot use, I think we'll have to end it here. :extendshandforshaking:

[SeattleGirl]

29. Extending hand to you, too

:hi:

[sweetheart]

64. Depending on the plant

you could say that 1 plant == 1 regular pot smoker 1 month supply
after 2 months green growth 3 months flowering and 1 month curing.
But that presumes he was growing using full sized plants, more outdoor
like. Indoor grows are constrained less by the plants and more by
the lights, that the amount of electricity it takes to grow any
serious amount is enough to noticably increase the electric bill.

So then SERIOUS cannabis growers, use generators that run the lights
off petrol off the grid. But several months of high-intensity
light bulb electricity is not something the "poor" often want to pay
for, so people try to grow it outdoors, in green houses, and in
rural areas where the sun does the work for free. Yet this increases
the risk.

Yet frankly, most growers have completely minimized their risk, by
not doing trade with anyone they haven't known for 10 years.

If the grower was using sea-of green method, then the 500 plants
could have been very small, a single bud-each... but neverthe less,
i'll wager they got him through his electric bills.. lights for 500
gotsta be about 10-20Kw, running anywhere from 12 to 24 hours a day.

I look at it like wine. The guy was growing some good vintage, and
they came down and fucked him... too bad nobody'll get to taste
the bounty of his green thumb. Most vintner's would find 500 grape
vines to not be all that much. By the scale of how cannabis should
be done, if it were legal, an afficionado could easily do outdoor
grows of 500 plants for personal use, so that he had some fresh
bud on hand of all different varieties, the wet dream of a cannabis
smoker, an infinite supply of whatever kind of bud you feel like
that day. I feel sorry for the guy. I'm sure they're doing the
usual torture abuse and fucking to destroy him.

[In_The_Wind]

21. Dang!

I know you're glad it's over.




BTW ~ This post is for the changed thread title.

[SeattleGirl]

23. Indeed I am.

Though the Sherrif's Dept. and the Feds will be here for quite some time, cleaning out all the plants and such.

I just wish I could get the theme from "COPS" out of my head! x(

[In_The_Wind]

50. Where ya gonna go, where ya gonna go ...

Relax ~ They ain't coming for you! You're naughty but you're nice. :evilgrin:

[Shine]

27. Wow, sounds like an exciting afternoon, SG.

glad it all worked out.
:D

[SeattleGirl]

30. So am I. They're actually still at the house

Hauling out the plants and such.

[Shine]

31. so what happens to all those plants?

:smoke:


hmmm.....

the cops are gonna party later on? lol.

[SeattleGirl]

32. That's what I suggested in an earlier post!

Actually, I'm not sure what they do with them. Destroy them I think, but hopefully not by burning them! Then it WOULD be party time at the Sherrif's department! :rofl:

[Shine]

33. Yeah, really. Talk about a "contact high"....

:D

[jukes]

68. they're usu burnt

after the trial, o/c. & usu at the local dump.

a fair percentage of cops maintain their own supply from confiscations. it's RIDICULOUS that reefer is a crime but the gov't-sanctioned recreational drugs are SO much more harmful & addictive.

[leftofthedial]

35. please wake me up

when they wrestle you to the ground on the lawn in your underwear

:evilgrin:

thanks!

[SeattleGirl]

42. Doubt it will happen. I look too much like a "mom"

:evilgrin:

[leftofthedial]

44. oh well.

we can hope!

[SeattleGirl]

46. I'll make sure to post the video if it happens

:evilgrin:

[uncle ray]

36. yay for the police state of Amerika!

so the guy kept to himself, wasn't a menace to neighbors, the police had to watch him for half a year to get anything to bust him on because he kept his grow so private they could not bust him on site? yippee. score one for the fascists.

[leftofthedial]

38. Keeping Murka safe

for the pharmaceutical, alcohol and tobacco industries

[SeattleGirl]

41. This guy is not exactly a male version of Pollyanna

He has a very long criminal record, and not just for drug stuff. And like it or not, the stuff is still illegal, especially growing it in the quantity this guy was. You know, it kind of bothers me that people choose to use the word fascist whenever law enforcement does something they are allowed to do under the law (though it does bother me a LOT that Dubya thinks he can make his own laws -- that to me is fascism).

[bridgit]

43. dang SG it's like that movie: stakeout II...

what were the charges any info there

[SeattleGirl]

45. The Sherrif's officers I've talked to didn't say but based on

the fact that the neighbor was growing and selling pot, he'll be charged with that. And, because they found way over 500 plants, it is now a federal case.

[bridgit]

47. ah man!! well, i hope he put some aside for a defense fund...

here's hoping he has a degree in AG, or horticulture he could always maybe do some community service of some kind :shrug: 500 plants is hard to cover, the water & elect usage alone not to mentioned infrared signature are easily scoped, and monitored too bad...

Legalize Medical Marijuana!!

[jukes]

69. not how DEA works.

they insist on confiscating ALL moneys (even in offshore acc'ts) & most property (house & cars) used in the distribution. there are "public defenders" that specialize in the plea bargain process. mnay of them are ex-federal prosecutors.

DEA gives you 1 choice; let them take everything from you AND turn some1 else in=a sentence cutting grass on an Air Force Officers' golf course at a Federal Prison Camp. Fail to "co-operate" means your sentence will be in a level 5 security prison like Marion Illinois, & the public has no idea what those medieval-dungeons are like.

DEA is ALL about profit & numbers. and extortion.

[bridgit]

70. it's been some time now, but i knew some folks that were bio-chem grads...

and under grads etc @ berzerkley, that were given the opportunity to process food stuffs, unit vits, mins & proteins, and genetic markers for the government...but i hear'ya...don't do the crime and your likelihood of not doing the time is greatly increased.

[bridgit]

71. oh, forgot to add...it helps to have a talent, or speciality...

[jukes]

72. that the DEA can exploit

or trade to another agency.

[bertha katzenengel]

48. Hmm

I'm torn. I believe the law should be upheld but I believe it should be legal to grow and sell weed.

:shrug:

You're a good citizen to offer your property. Hope the officers were sufficiently thankful.

:hi:

[SeattleGirl]

49. The officers were thankful, and very respectful to us.

Not to mention friendly as all get out. I totally loved it when the one officer told me he did not see anything wrong with folks smoking it because they enjoyed it. However, growing it and dealing it (and even smoking it, with the exception of the few states that allow for medical use), ARE illegal, and as such, Sherrif and Police officers are bound to enforce the law.

[Heidi]

51. Do you feel safer now?

:shrug:

[SeattleGirl]

52. I never really felt unsafe here, but then, I didn't know of my

neighbor's activities. He pretty much kept to himself, but I do shudder to think of what might have happened had one of his customers been unhappy with something. :scared:

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

53. Yep, got to watch out for those angry stoners...

I hear they're almost as bad as *gasp* caffeine addicts!

[SeattleGirl]

55. Now, now

There have been some nasty things that have gone down around here connected to pot deals. But that is more about the dealing (or dealing gone wrong) than the pot itself.

A person who is stoned is rather mellow, I admit....but if he/she cannot get what they want, they might not be so happy about it.

[ghostsofgiants]

67. Why is it you only ever hear about drug deals that go bad?

What about the good ones? "Two for one? Say, that IS a good drug deal!" :P

[Heidi]

56. You know what worries me a lot more than pot dealers?

It's our neighbors across the road and one lot up, who are _constantly_ screaming at one another at all hours of the day and night. I worry a lot more about the fallout from domestic violence than I do the neighbors who grow and smoke pot. Also, we've several neighbors who violate every sort of Swiss firearms law by discharging handguns into the sky on important Italian holiday, as well as weddings, Swiss National Day, etc. :scared:

[SeattleGirl]

57. I hear you!

I used to live with a friend and her husband, a retired police officer. And I was dating a sherrif's officer at the same time. Plus, after I moved to Seattle, I got to go on a ride-along with an officer from the Seattle PD. Every cop I've ever known puts domestic violence calls at or near the top of their list of most dreaded calls.

[Ariana Celeste]

54. Oh jeez

If you wanna grow massive amounts of pot do it in the outskirts of Auburn, Snoqualmie Valley, or Southern Pierce County.

While I hate pot related arrests, the fact is, it's illegal to grow, sell, or have pot on your person. Be *smart* about it. I hate stupidity a lot more than pot laws. And besides growing in large quantities puts your neighbors at risk. Not cool.

[SeattleGirl]

58. Yes it does.

A lot of DUers get upset at the whole marijuana is illegal thing, but as you said, the fact is, it IS illegal at this time. One of the officers I talked to said he really didn't care if people smoked it recreationally in their homes, but as an officer of the law, he is sworn to uphold the law, regardless of his personal opinion.

[Ariana Celeste]

59. yup!

I remember months ago a thread in GD, I have such a bad memory I don't remember the DU'ers name, but he posted a thread which was basically "Ask a cop" and got jumped on and flamed all to hell!!! But he said the same thing- no personal problem with pot, but, it's illegal, so when it comes down to it you have to deal with that.

Be smart if you wanna smoke pot or do drugs! Be responsible, keep the noise down, don't get out of control. It's really not that hard to do :shrug:

[SeattleGirl]

60. And try to restrain yourself from growing over 500 plants at home

That will bring the Feds in, like it did with neighbor man.

[Ariana Celeste]

61. LOL exactly

You could probably get away with 10 or so without your power bill going through the roof. Don't go overboard.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

62. Fucking fascists.

Always going after pot smokers like they were terrorists or something...

Man, I have the munchies. :smoke: :D

[SeattleGirl]

63. Ptttthhhh!

:rofl: