HOUSE GONE TO POT; 2,000 PLANTS DISCOVERED IN CHATSWORTH.Byline: Peter Hartlaub Daily News Staff Writer Authorities arrested two men Wednesday after entering a spacious house filled with 2,000 marijuana plants, a sophisticated growing system and very little in the way of household amenities. Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department This article is about the Los Angeles County Sherriff's Department, not to be confused with the smaller Los Angeles County Police The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD) is a local law enforcement agency that serves Los Angeles County, California. investigators acted off a tip from neighbors, who found it suspicious that a man in a new white Ford Mustang For other Ford Mustang models and concepts, see . The Ford Mustang is an automobile produced by the Ford Motor Company, originally based on the Ford Falcon compact.[1] kept making quick stops at the two-story Needles Street home, said Capt. Al Scaduto Al Scaduto (b. July 12, 1928, Bronx, New York[1]) is a comic strip cartoonist. He has worked on such strips as They'll Do It Every Time. In 1979, he and Bob Dunn received the National Cartoonist Society Newspaper Panel Cartoon Award for the strip. . ``It's a smaller operation than the one we had in Bel-Air a few months ago,'' Scaduto said. ``(But) obviously these guys knew what they were doing.'' Scaduto said deputies also searched three other area residences, yielding 100 more plants in an Agua Dulce Agua Dulce is Spanish for "sweet water". It also refers to various locations: In Mexico:
Scaduto said the plants could produce $2 million worth of drugs annually. A search warrant served at a Bel-Air mansion earlier this year yielded 4,116 marijuana plants, the largest indoor pot bust in county history. Victor DeJoria, 54, and Wayne Iannola, 35, were arrested Wednesday afternoon and will face charges of cultivating marijuana, Scaduto said. Deputies were still searching Wednesday night for a third suspect, who may have lived in the Agua Dulce residence. Most of the floor space in the five-bedroom, three-bath Needles Street house was filled with marijuana plants in 2-gallon plastic buckets. It looked more like a greenhouse than someone's living quarters. Hoses attached to shower heads were the water source in a sophisticated hydroponics hydroponics, growing of plants without soil in water to which nutrients have been added. Hydroponics has been used for over a century as a research technique, but not until 1929 were experiments conducted solely to determine its feasibility for growing commercial system that snaked white plastic pipe under wooden trays to feed water into the plants. One bathroom had 55-gallon plastic drums of fertilized fer·til·ize v. fer·til·ized, fer·til·iz·ing, fer·til·iz·es v.tr. 1. To cause the fertilization of (an ovum, for example). 2. water that could have held a rodeo clown A rodeo clown is a rodeo performer who works on bull riding contests. Historically the primary job of the rodeo clown is to protect the rider from the bull after he dismounts or is bucked off, by distracting the bull and providing alternative targets for the bull to chase. . Notebook paper with the heading ``Bud Formula'' was taped to a bathroom window, specifying precisely how much calcium and potassium nitrate potassium nitrate, chemical compound, KNO3, occurring as colorless, prismatic crystals or as a white powder; it is found pure in nature as the mineral saltpeter, or niter. (The name saltpeter is also applied to sodium nitrate, although less frequently. should be added to water to produce a healthy crop. In the largest of seven growing areas - what was once a living room - there were seven microwave-size fluorescent lights, several timers and four fans with the circumference of a truck tire. Electrical wires snaked randomly around the room, which authorities said was warmed to about 90 degrees. Some plants were being dried in the fireplace. ``This is a fire hazard fire hazard fire n that's a fire hazard → das ist feuergefährlich fire hazard n that's a fire hazard → comporta rischi in caso d'incendio waiting to happen,'' Scaduto said. Sheriff's deputies said they didn't know how long the home had been used as a pot greenhouse. Neighbors said they had seen the suspects coming and going for at least a year. About 20 investigators worked on the case for the past few weeks, after deputies at the Lost Hills station got a tip from neighbors. Scaduto said DeJoria's $1,700 electricity bill helped convince investigators that they had the right place. ``They don't reside here, this house is specifically for the purpose of growing marijuana,'' Scaduto said, adding that ``they were very good at what they were doing.'' Most of the plants were full-grown - 3 to 5 feet tall - although one room was dedicated to cultivating and planting seedlings and another area was at least half-full of young plants. Iannola was arrested about 4 p.m. driving a white pickup a few blocks away from the house. DeJoria was arrested 10 minutes later at the Woolsey Canyon home. Both were in custody at the Santa Clarita Santa Clarita, city (1990 pop. 110,642), Los Angeles co., S Calif., suburb 30 mi (48 km) NW of downtown Los Angeles, on the Santa Clara River; inc. 1987. Situated in the Santa Clara valley and nearby canyons, Santa Clarita includes the former towns of Canyon Country, sheriff's station, Scaduto said. The beige house with white trim is the newest-looking of the five residences in the cul-de-sac, and the only one that wasn't at least partially obscured by trees. DeJoria's Mustang had a vanity plate vanity plate n. A license plate for a motor vehicle bearing a combination of letters or numbers selected by the purchaser. that said ``VICSTOY.'' Most of the windows were blocked off with black trash bags, and extra power outlets and transformers were screwed crookedly into the walls and floors. There were a few small stained glass windows Stained Glass Windows was an early broadcast television program, broadcast on early Sunday evenings on the ABC network. The program was a religious broadcast, hosted by the Reverend Everett Parker. The program ran from September 26, 1948 until October 16, 1949. and some pretty chandeliers in the kitchen and one hallway, but no beds, furniture or kitchen appliances. An elderly couple whose French windows French windows Noun, pl a window extending to floor level, used as a door offer a splendid view of the property said they weren't surprised that the suspects' ``business'' didn't last long in their neighborhood. ``They came to the wrong place,'' said the woman, who wouldn't give her name. ``We have a strong Neighborhood Watch.'' Her husband chimed in: ``If it can happen in a mansion in Bel-Air, it can happen anywhere.'' CAPTION(S): 4 Photos PHOTO (1 -- color) Marijuana plants fill the garage of a Chatsworth home that was raided Wednesday by the county Sheriff's Department. (2 -- color) Investigators said the electric bills at the home were as much as $1,700 a month. (3) Tips from neighbors brought sheriff's investigators to a house on Needles Street in Chatsworth where about 2,000 marijuana plants were found. (4) A list of chemicals used to fertilize the plants was posted in a bathroom. Terri Thuente/Daily News |
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