One Pittsburgh man is looking at some jail time after local police discovered more than 70 marijuana plants as part of a suspected grow lab inside his home Sunday evening.
Thirty-three-year-old Michael David Sullivan was arrested after the discovery and was charged with possession of a controlled substance, possession with intent to deliver, manufacturing a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Police report they were called to Sullivan's home in the 400 block of Hazelwood Avenue around 6:30 p.m. after neighbors reported a strong odor emanating from his residence. Upon their arrival, police were able to smell the aforementioned odor and quickly identified its source as marijuana. They tried to get Sullivan, who they could see inside the house, to come out of the door, but he refused.
Authorities resorted to trying to get a search warrant, however while doing so, Sullivan exited out of the back door, prompting authorities to detain him once they noticed. After the warrant was obtained, police discovered an assortment of drug-related paraphernalia. In total, police found 72 marijuana plants, an undefined amount of marijuana seeds and a "variety of other components of a home grow operation."
Soon afterward, the Department of Public Works was called to the scene to remove all remnants of the grow operation. Everything that had been removed by the department was destroyed in the aftermath of the police sting.
In related news, though on a far grander scale, a major drug bust occurred late March when federal agents discovered a cross-border tunnel, complete with a lighting and a rail system that smugglers had been using to ferry drugs between Mexico and California. What was most notable about the results of the sting, however, was the measures the smugglers had taken to hide their activities. On the California end, authorities discovered that the smugglers had actually purchased a plot of land, as well as building an entire house on top of it to hide the entrance, while on the Mexican end, the other side was hidden inside a restaurant.
In the meantime, Sullivan is being held in the Allegheny County Jail and is expected to appear in court for a preliminary hearing on April 12.
