Police serving warrant find indoor marijuana operation.

Byline: Rebecca Nolan The Register-Guard

NOTI - Police serving a search warrant at a Noti home Thursday morning discovered what they described as a sophisticated indoor marijuana growing operation in an outbuilding.

Officers from several agencies arrived at 22622 Williams Way about 7 a.m. On the property, they found 108 marijuana plants worth about $30,000, Eugene police spokeswoman Pam Olshanski said.

Officers also found nearly $21,000 in cash and four guns, she said.

"This was not a new business venture," Olshanski said. "It was very well organized and very successful in the quality of the plants."

The property owner, Timothy Scott Usher, 28, was being held in the Lane County Jail on charges of manufacturing, delivering and possessing a controlled substance. His wife was questioned and released, Olshanski said.

Members of the Interagency Narcotics Enforcement Team, the Metro SWAT team and the Lane County Emergency Services Forest Team, and one officer from the federal Drug Enforcement Agency, served the warrant. Also on hand were a medic unit, the crisis negotiation team, and a light-armored vehicle and helicopter borrowed from the National Guard. A total of about 45 officers were present, Olshanski said.

The plants were found growing inside a structure that had been built within an outbuilding, she said. The arrangement provided insulation and odor control for the pungent plants, she said. A second building was in the process of being outfitted in a similar way, she said.

The investigation began when sheriff's deputies learned that someone was possibly growing pot at the address.