Pubdate: Wed, 18 Jan 2006
Source: Tampa Tribune (FL)
Copyright: 2006, The Tribune Co.
Contact:  http://www.tampatrib.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/446
Author: Lenny Savino
Note: Limit LTEs to 150 words
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)

INVESTMENT HOMES HOUSED POT

Real Estate Partners Are Accused Of Growing 400 Plants At 3 Locations

TAMPA - As real estate investors who renovated run-down homes, Bryan
Pennington and his partner Christopher Jones were welcomed by neighbors.

In November, Jones closed on his 4007 N. Myrtle Ave. ranch home in
South Seminole Heights. Since then, he had put up a new chain-link
fence, gutted the interior and painted the exterior a warm shade of
tan.

"It was wonderful that he cleaned up the place," a next-door neighbor
said.

Jones, 33, promised her that outside security lights were also in the
works.

On Tuesday, neighbors and reporters watched a squad of Tampa narcotics
officers removed 246 marijuana plants from the tiny house.

They were being carefully cultivated in the same way officers
described the scene at two other homes owned by the partners - in a
sealed, climate-controlled room using a hydroponic growing method,
officials said.

The marijuana was being grown in a large tub filled with water and
liquid fertilizer pumped from children's pools. Lamps on timers
provided the necessary light.

Tuesday's harvest makes for a total of 400 plants confiscated since
Sunday from the three homes owned by the men, police said.

"They're not home investors," said Sgt. Keith O'Connor, who was
supervising the search warrant. "They're home-grown investors."

Both men remained in the Orient Road Jail on Tuesday with no bail set.
On Monday, they were charged with manufacturing, possessing and
selling marijuana. On Tuesday, O'Connor said trafficking charges will
be added because they surpassed the 300-plant level. A marijuana
trafficking conviction carries a mandatory minimum sentence of three
years in prison and a $25,000 fine.

O'Connor and his "Quad Squad" of about eight officers have been
busy.

On Sunday, they received a tip that there was marijuana growing in a
house at 1914 1/2 W. Fig St. in North Hyde Park. After getting a
search warrant, they confiscated 69 plants from the home and arrested
Pennington and Jones on Monday after they went to the Fig Street home.

Checking property records, officers found other homes owned by
Pennington or Jones. At 1917 1/2 W. Fig St., a Pennington property,
they executed another search warrant and confiscated 85 marijuana
plants. Counting both homes, 60 pounds of marijuana with an estimated
street value of $250,000 was confiscated, officials said.

Hillsborough County property records show Pennington, 35, also owns
homes at 721 W. Kentucky Ave., 405 N. Albany Ave., 2715 W. Spruce St.,
2413 Bayshore Blvd. and 2515 W. Main St. Their market value is
$150,000 to $200,000, records show. Pennington's company is named Hot
Properties.

O'Connor said Jones owns about four homes.

Hydroponic marijuana is sold for $3,000 to $5,000 a pound, O'Connor
said, because it contains high amounts of the mind-altering drug
tetrahydrocannabinol, known as THC. Just whom the partners were
selling to is not clear, O'Connor said.

"What struck me about them was their arrogance," he said. "Posing as
real estate investors in residential neighborhoods - that's definitely
bold."
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MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin