LAWRENCE COUNTY Suspect faces more charges after search

The suspect was arrested in Zelienople, Pa., on drug charges.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR PENNSYLVANIA STAFF
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- The house of a suspected marijuana grower held a little more than police expected.
Police went to 509 Lyndall St. looking for Ralph Alex Baughman, 46, Thursday afternoon, but, instead, found 412 small suspected marijuana plants, weapons and live chickens inside.
Police already have charged Baughman with manufacturing a controlled substance, possession with the intent to deliver a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. Those charges stem from the Aug. 11 discovery of 1,321 suspected marijuana plants in a Covert Road field he owned in North Beaver Township. The Lawrence County District Attorney's Drug Task Force made the discovery.
The Pennsylvania Army National Guard helped locate the plants by helicopter.
Police Chief Tom Sansone said additional charges were to be filed today against Baughman based on what was found in his house.
Items found
Sansone said Baughman was not home when officers arrived at 1 p.m. They did find three live chickens penned up in the house, straw on the floors, compost, a pistol, an automatic weapon with live rounds and small suspected marijuana plants.
It's unclear whether Baughman actually lives in the house, the chief said. Sansone said they found a cot inside, but it did not appear to have been used in some time.
Officers found a pay stub in the house for a Zelienople, Pa., business, and police in that community picked up Baughman at his job. He was later picked up by city police and arraigned by District Justice David Rishel.
Police got an arrest warrant for Baughman after learning he owned the Covert Road land where police seized the suspected marijuana plants in August. Police later burned the plants.
According to court papers filed to support the charges, Baughman bought the North Beaver Township land in April 2004. Some of the plants found in August measured more than 10 feet tall, court papers said.
People living nearby were able to identify Baughman through a photo array, court papers stated. The witnesses told police that Baughman would spend hours in the patch of land. He told one neighbor that he was a graphic artist and wanted to develop the land into a park, court papers said.