BOARDMAN Police charge two grew marijuana

The arrested men are brothers.
By JOHN W. GOODWIN JR.
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
BOARDMAN -- Township police and agents from the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation have arrested two men they say were responsible for running an elaborate marijuana-growing operation.
Brothers Christopher Gallagher, 19, and Timothy Gallagher, 18, both of 7032 Southern Blvd., were arrested early Friday morning. They will each face charges of cultivation of marijuana and trafficking in marijuana.
According to police reports, 27 marijuana plants and 13 bags of marijuana packaged for sale were seized along with what police describe as "a truck load" of drug paraphernalia, including growers lights, fertilizer, compressed carbon dioxide, solar tracking devices and irrigation equipment.
Description of operation
Capt. Jack Nichols said the brothers' set up was elaborate enough to include sky lights that would scan the area where the marijuana plants were being grown in a motion that would emulate the sun's movement from east to west.
Nichols said police had been investigating the brothers for about a month. He said officers cannot say how long the marijuana operation had been in existence, but said the Gallaghers had photos from previous plants much larger in size than those confiscated.
Nichols said the value of the seized marijuana is not that much, but the equipment is worth "a good several thousand dollars." He said each arrest, even those for small amounts, work for the greater good of the community.
"We are taking small steps, but we hope to get big results by taking a series of small steps," he said.
The arrests were made as part of a new Streets Crime Unit implemented by the department in May. Trustees gave the department a $50,000 internal grant to cover overtime and other expenses of the unit.
Twelve township officers will be assigned to work the program on overtime. The program will run through August. Nichols said the unit has made 10 drug-related arrest so far in June.
jgoodwin@vindy.com