Police confiscate about 100 marijuana plants from Warren home

Staff report

WARREN

A citizen complaint to the Ohio State Highway Patrol led to the discovery of about 100 marijuana plants and a fairly sophisticated growing operation at a house in the 2200 block of Brier Street Southeast on Friday.

The tip came into the Ohio State Highway Patrol, which notified the Warren Police Department’s Street Crimes Unit.

When a Warren officer knocked at the door and the male resident answered, the smell of live marijuana “rolled out” the front door, Police Chief Eric Merkel said.

Police then secured a search warrant and found the operation. The man was placed in the back seat of an OSHP vehicle while officers removed the plants and equipment and placed them in the back of a pickup truck for removal.

Charges are pending processing of the marijuana, including drying it and eventual weighing, Merkel said.

A resident living nearby said there isn’t an unusual amount of traffic in and out of the house, and he never would have suspected anything unusual.

“Nice kid. Quiet house. You can raise a family here, as my wife and I did. This is a shock,” the man said.

Merkel said anyone with information on other homes engaged in this type of activity should call the Street Crimes Unit at 330-841-2658.