A Chandler man accused of running a sophisticated marijuana growing operation out of his residence has been shut down after police noticed an aroma of pot wafting into the street while conducting a recent traffic stop.
Sir Jorien Marcette Jackson, 25, was arrested on suspicion of marijuana possession-related offenses in the 700 block of South Jesse Street on Sunday after officers executed a search warrant at the home where Jackson had lived since October, according to Detective Dave Ramer, a Chandler police spokesman.
Police patrol officers recently conducted a traffic stop near the house and smelled the odor of marijuana coming from the home before they obtained a search warrant and discovered 332 potted marijuana plants inside.
Officers said Jackson had an elaborate pot growing operation equipped with lamps and a watering system running throughout the house.
"He was doing everything he could to cultivate those buds," Ramer said. "It was a fully-equipped operation. He was cultivating it and preparing it for sale.
With each marijuana plant producing about a pound of pot a year, the approximate street value ranged from $664,000 to $1.7 million ($2,000 to $5,000 a pound), depending on the quality of it, according to Ramer.
Ramer said that it was unusual for a patrol unit to make that large of a marijuana bust and believed it was the biggest one made by patrol officers in the city.
"This was great police work," Ramer said. "Usually, patrol will make an arrest and turn it over to the narcotics unit, but for patrol officers to make a marijuana bust that big is phenomenal."
