A Conyers Housing Authority residence was found with a marijuana grow kit with 10 fledgling plants and room for more on Monday. Mario Poole, 22, of Conyers was arrested for manufacturing marijuana.
Accordign to reports, inside the Allen Circle residence were two cabinets, one containing two grow trays. One of the trays had "10 small marijuana plants that were sprouting above the soil with leaves on them." The cabinet also contained a grow light above the plants and an air pump circulating water beneath.
Police responded after Conyers Housing Authority Director Gary Erwin, a former Conyers Police Lieutenant, notified the CPD of suspicious equipment and boxes located inside a residence on Allen Circle, according to police reports.
Upon arrival police met with Erwin and another former 10-year law enforcement vet,the CHA Lease Enforcement Officer, Mike Brown.
According to reports, as part of the CHA lease agreement, there were "Move In Inspections" for the first three months after someone moves into an apartment. After Brown sent a letter of an upcoming inspection to the resident, he looked over the residence.
During the inspection, according to reports, Brown noticed two refrigerator-sized cabinets in one of the bedrooms.
Brown told police that the units were pulling a lot of electricity because there were amps, surge protectors and there was heat coming from one of the units. There were also boxes for aquarium air pumps, soil testing kits, grow lights and other equipment for growing plants inside.
According to reports, "Brown and Erwin recognized this equipment as being commonly used in growing marijuana indoors."
Police asked the resident if she knew what was in the cabinets and she stated she did not know. The resident said the cabinets belonged to the father of her child, Mario Poole, who did not live there. According to reports, she said "the cabinets were none of her business even though they were inside her residence."
She said the cabinets and equipment were shipped to her residence.
Poole, 22, of Conyers, was then called to the apartment, and when arrived was asked if the cabinets inside were being used to grow marijuana. According to reports, Poole said, "kinda sorta."
After receiving permission to search the cabinets, the officer noted the content of the cabinets were indeed used for growing marijuana.
Poole was then handcuffed and told officers that the resident did not know what was going on and had nothing to do with the cabinets.
According to reports, secured from the residence were: two metal cabinets with grow lights, hygrometers, fans, ballasts, air pumps, timers attached, one grow tray with 10 marijuana plants sprouted and six more pods with soil, two plastic grow trays that were empty, one shipping label found in a box in the bedroom, one shipping label found on the bottom of the cardboard that one of the cabinets was on top of, one Recipe for Success Starting Kit that appeared to be complete, one Recipe for Success Starting Kit that appeared to have been used, a ballast box with miscellaneous grow chemicals and tools, a Reg-1 CO2 regulatorGro Dan A-OK Starter, plugs, a digital thermometer/hygrometerTDS Meter water quality tester, and an Apollo 8 time ran aquarium light timer. Additionally, two bags of plant food were in the bedroom but were not collected because it would spoil, and CSI Strawn took photos of the bags.
