A February 18 fire in the residence located at Great’scapes Nursery at 87 County Road prompted police to charge the nursery’s two owners with Class D cultivating and possession with intent to manufacture marijuana after 34 pot plants were discovered and seized, as well as drug paraphernalia police encountered at the scene.
According to a February 20 press release issued by Mattapoisett Police Chief Mary Lyons, during the course of extinguishing the fire, firefighters encountered an apparent grow room for marijuana on the second floor. Once it was safe to enter the building, Detective Craig LeBlanc allegedly observed about 12 marijuana plants lying on the floor, as well as large aluminum-like sheets spread across the floor and lining the inside of a nearby closet.
“Several heating lamps were observed hanging from the ceiling through the open closet door,” states Lyons in the press release. Additional marijuana was then found in the attic, including a small pile of dry marijuana lying beside a melted fan. The press release alleges that the room was used as a drying room for the cultivation of marijuana.
“Detective LeBlanc spoke with [one of the owners] regarding the marijuana cultivation,” states the press release. “[The owner] was unable to produce proper legal documents permitting him to possess or cultivate marijuana.”
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
By Jean Perry