Police in Glendale sniffed out a pot grower who had a kindergarten-level excuse for his growing operation -- the dog ate his medical-marijuana card.
According to court documents obtained by New Times, Charles Stephens III was growing outside of the limitations of the medical-marijuana program anyway.
In an officer's probable-cause statement, he describes literally sniffing out the growing operation inside a home, which he caught a whiff of from 47th Avenue and Maryland:
. . . While conducting a traffic stop on an unrelated police matter in the aerea of 47th Ave. and Maryland, I smelled a strong odor of marijuana plants in the area. The wind was blowing north to northeast, and myself and other officers drove through the surrounding neighborhood to the south in an effort to locate the source of the smell. On a cul-de-sac just south of the location of the traffic stop, I located a residence I believed to be the source of the marijuana odor. Myself and other officers were able to smell a strong odor of marijuana plants that seemed to be emitting from a vent or the attic on the east side of the house.The front windows of the house were covered with a white canvas, and there were pieces of foil around the windows too, which only made officers more suspicious.
Stephens answered the door for police and "had what appeared to be pieces of green plant material on his clothing," and the marijuana smell kept pouring out of the house, according to the documents.
Stephens told police he's allowed to be growing marijuana, because he has a medical-marijuana card -- again, which the dog ate. (Police don't mention a dog at the house.)
According to the documents, Stephens explained that he hadn't been able to get a replacement card and he didn't know the number.
Police performed what they refer to as a "safety sweep" of the residence and found 29 plants growing in one of the bedrooms.
After that, officers got a search warrant approved from a county judge.
Stephens told police that he and his mom "donate" marijuana to their friends, and they all have medical-marijuana cards.
Stephens said he doesn't have a dispensary permit, nor does he have a locked room where the plants are produced.
Stephens had about two pounds of product -- and the capability to produce a couple more pounds, according to the documents.
He also told police that he had served a year in prison for possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute.
Stephens also had a bolt-action rifle in the house, which he's not allowed to have to begin with due to his felony conviction but also isn't allowed to have while being an alleged marijuana grower.
In the end, Stephens was booked into jail on four felony marijuana charges and two felony weapons charges.
