Couple charged in marijuana cultivation freed on bonds

CORTLAND — A Johnston Township couple charged following discovery of a marijuana cultivation operation will wait to find out when they’ll appear in court again.

Jesse, 34, and Erin Rabich, 36, were arraigned Monday morning in Trumbull County Central District Court. Both are charged with one count of cultivation of marijuana and one count of endangering children.

The couple was held over the weekend at the Trumbull County jail in Warren, each on a $40,000 cash surety bond, posted on Monday.

A court hearing date was not set on Monday, and both entered innocent pleas.

Authorities found and seized more than $22,000 in cash and three large bags of marijuana from an underground bunker located at the couple’s Irishtown-Southworth Road home. Authorities also located $477 in cash, three firearms and a gun barrel inside the home.

The Trumbull Ashtabula Group law-enforcement task force got the warrant Friday after a one-week investigation into the cultivation and distribution of marijuana. Complaints indicated youths were receiving the drug in northern Trumbull County communities.

According to a news release from TAG, authorities discovered the area in the couple’s barn where the suspected growing/drying operation had been cleaned and believed the couple had been tipped off to the investigation.

Read more in Tuesday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com