[Sativa]

Albany police cut their way through a blackberry brush tunnel to reach a hidden marijuana grow Thursday in a vacant lot near Ferry Street and 25th Avenue S.E.

They removed 22 potted plants from a small clearing with help from a City of Albany Public Works crew who brought in equipment to tear down some of the blackberry bushes once officers photographed the evidence.

The plants, one to three feet tall, were mature but hadn’t been harvested.

Police discovered the plants late Wednesday evening when responding to a call about people with backpacks going into the place, a large open field. Officers detained three men at gunpoint, thinking that the men might be planning a burglary. It turned out they had been packing in water for the plants, Police Capt. Eric Carter said.

Police dog Draco followed a track to the tunnel at the blackberry bushes. Officers went through the tunnel, about 75 feet long, and found the plants along with fertilizer, pruning sheers, a sleeping bag and camouflage netting.

Officers arrested two of the men, Rick Allen Olson and Sean Duane Adams, both 20 and from Albany, on felony marijuana charges. They were being held in the Linn County Jail this morning.

Also on Thursday, police searched a house in the 1300 block of 27th Avenue S.E., where the men had been living. Officers found less than an ounce of marijuana, packaging materials, scales, cash and a firearm, Carter said. A woman at the house was cited for possession of less than an ounce of marijuana.

The property where the marijuana was found is owned by Greater Albany Public Schools but is undeveloped and unused.

The school district pays someone to cut the grass about twice a year, but the blackberry bushes are left alone, said Jim Haggart, a spokesman for GAPS.



News Mod: CoZmO - http://www.420Magazine.com
Source: Albany Democrat-Herald (Albany, OR)
Author: Carrie Petersen
Contact: news@dhonline.com
Copyright: 2007 Lee Enterprises
Website: Albany Democrat-Herald: News - Top Story