st7860
Apr 16th, 2007, 01:22 PM
http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/story.html?id=d8e3687b-c365-483e-ac32-c1827fe8f342&k=48489
Firefighter may face pot charges after plants found in home
380 pot plants allegedly discovered
DELTA - A Vancouver firefighter may face charges after Delta police found a marijuana grow operation in his home.
The unidentified 44-year-old man was arrested Thursday.
Police acting on a search warrant raided his home in the 9100-block 112th Street that afternoon and found 380 plants with an estimated street value of $140,000.
Vancouver Fire Department spokesman Capt. Rob Jones-Cook confirmed the suspect is a 24-year member of the department and is an active firefighter working out of a station on the city's west side.
"If it's true, it goes against everything we're doing," Jones-Cook said of the potential charges. "We as a fire department expect all of our employees to demonstrate good judgment, honesty and personal integrity at all times."
The firefighter, a married father of three, was put on administrative leave without pay on Saturday morning. Delta police are recommending he be charged with production of a controlled substance and possession for the purpose of trafficking. Crown has yet to approve the charges.
Police have confirmed they hauled $7,000 worth of lights and fans from the house. Officers later put a sign on the firefighter's front lawn explaining to curious passersby that police were dismantling a grow operation.
The suspect was released from custody on a promise to appear in court. Power supply to the tidy home across the street from the Annieville Elementary playing field has been cut off.
"It took me by surprise," said Jones-Cook, who said he only learned of the arrest Friday when a Delta Optimist reporter called him for comment. In his 30 years with the VFD, Jones-Cook said he can't recall any case like the one emerging in Delta. Firefighters routinely assist police to take down grow-ops and are very vocal in explaining the fire hazards of growing marijuana.
Jones-Cook pointed out that two firefighters from the department work with the Vancouver police Grow Busters team to dismantle illegal marijuana grows. The suspect in this case did not liaise with Grow Busters.
Jones-Cook said the department does not believe the suspect firefighter used grow-op knowledge gleaned from on-the-job observation to put together his own alleged pot farm.
Firefighter may face pot charges after plants found in home
380 pot plants allegedly discovered
DELTA - A Vancouver firefighter may face charges after Delta police found a marijuana grow operation in his home.
The unidentified 44-year-old man was arrested Thursday.
Police acting on a search warrant raided his home in the 9100-block 112th Street that afternoon and found 380 plants with an estimated street value of $140,000.
Vancouver Fire Department spokesman Capt. Rob Jones-Cook confirmed the suspect is a 24-year member of the department and is an active firefighter working out of a station on the city's west side.
"If it's true, it goes against everything we're doing," Jones-Cook said of the potential charges. "We as a fire department expect all of our employees to demonstrate good judgment, honesty and personal integrity at all times."
The firefighter, a married father of three, was put on administrative leave without pay on Saturday morning. Delta police are recommending he be charged with production of a controlled substance and possession for the purpose of trafficking. Crown has yet to approve the charges.
Police have confirmed they hauled $7,000 worth of lights and fans from the house. Officers later put a sign on the firefighter's front lawn explaining to curious passersby that police were dismantling a grow operation.
The suspect was released from custody on a promise to appear in court. Power supply to the tidy home across the street from the Annieville Elementary playing field has been cut off.
"It took me by surprise," said Jones-Cook, who said he only learned of the arrest Friday when a Delta Optimist reporter called him for comment. In his 30 years with the VFD, Jones-Cook said he can't recall any case like the one emerging in Delta. Firefighters routinely assist police to take down grow-ops and are very vocal in explaining the fire hazards of growing marijuana.
Jones-Cook pointed out that two firefighters from the department work with the Vancouver police Grow Busters team to dismantle illegal marijuana grows. The suspect in this case did not liaise with Grow Busters.
Jones-Cook said the department does not believe the suspect firefighter used grow-op knowledge gleaned from on-the-job observation to put together his own alleged pot farm.