Open Door Reveals Pot Cultivation Operation
By Space Coast Daily // April 30, 2013
Police Arrest Melbourne Suspect
BREVARD COUNTY • WEST MELBOURNE, FLORIDA – West Melbourne Police discovered a marijuana grow house leading to an arrest after officers were called to an open door at a storage unit on Saturday.
Lt. Richard Cordeau of the West Melbourne Police Department said an anonymous tip led police to Ample Storage at 6963 West Nasa Blvd. in West Melbourne on Saturday.
Cordeau said the tipster reported seeing marijuana plants inside the unit.The rear door to the unit was standing open which prompted the tipster to call the police.
Cordeau said when officers arrived, they discovered the door was indeed open and were met with an overpowering smell of fresh marijuana. From outside the unit, officers could see numerous marijuana plants, grow lamps, and an irrigation system inside.
Officers secured the scene and began attempting to locate the renter, Marco A. Arias, 52, who was found at his residence at 4238 Palladian Way in Melbourne.
Arias was arrested for trafficking in cannabis, cultivation of cannabis and possession of drug paraphernalia. Investigators later discovered that Arias was also the renter of a second unit within the storage facility.
Cordeau said a search warrant was obtained for the second unit, which also contained a grow operation.
According to Cordeau, West Melbourne Police recovered 34 plants in all, with an approximate weight of 44 pounds. Arias is being being held at the Brevard County jail on a $55,500 bond.
