TAMPA, Fla. (AP) _ Deputies have arrested a 27-year-old man they say had grown 284 pounds of marijuana in his house and used an illegal electricity connection to support the operation.
Alberto Lavandera was arrested yesterday. Authorities say he had converted two side rooms at a home in Lutz into a grow house where he stashed 51 marijuana plants. Tampa Electric Company also discovered a power system that illegally provided unmetered electricity to the house. Authorities estimate the theft at $7,715.
Lavandera was charged with trafficking in marijuana, grand theft electricity, cultivation of marijuana, possession of a structure used for trafficking in controlled substances and possession of drug paraphernalia. Authorities say his marijuana was valued at $568,000.
