# Utility Worker Spots Lakeland Grow House



## FruityBud (May 12, 2009)

A utility worker in Polk County came across suspicious circumstances that turned out to be a full marijuana grow house in operation, authorities said.

The employee of Lakeland Electric was sent to cut off electricity to a house on Friday because the bill was delinquent. Upon arrival, he noticed a generator running to a shed in the backyard. The worker advised the resident in the home to turn off the generator and that he would be returning Monday to make sure the generator had been disconnected.

When the employee returned Monday, he noticed the generator was still running and said he spoke to the resident, who ran into the house and refused to come out. According to authorities, he also noticed other suspicious items around the residence, such as soil and privacy fencing, and reported it to the Polk County Sheriff's Office.

When deputies arrived, nobody would respond to the door of the residence, so authorities obtained a search warrant. The search revealed no one at the house, but 30 to 40 mature marijuana plants.

The shed behind the house appeared to be in the process of being turned into a marijuana grow operation.

*hxxp://shuurl.com/G4798*


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## blondeboy (Jun 22, 2009)

I was wondering if utility workers rat ppl out.  I have a baby plant growing near my electric box that now must be moved else where.  Thinking about tree topping up inside my ever green tree.


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## monkeybusiness (Jun 22, 2009)

I'm curious as to how and why the utility guy could order him to shut off a generator. Seems to me if i buy a generator and buy the gas then i can do what i want with it. Isn't it a little like having someone come to repossess your brand new car and ordering you to stop driving the old one you have also?


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## AcesUp (Jun 22, 2009)

It may have been because the generator was hooked in to the house/utilities incorrectly. If there is a power outage and the linemen are working on the wires, the generator could back feed in to the power grid. This is the only reason that seems logical to me. If he was there to shut off the power, then they either pull the meter or cut the wire to the pole or both. In that case there would be no reason to shut the generator off. It seems to me with a half intelligent attorney this case should be dismissed.


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## mrkingford (Jun 22, 2009)

ahh, a search warrant for what ?
A running generator? No one answering the door ?
Sometimes i think a lot is left out of these stories by either the press not getting ALL the facts or the cops.
What did they tell the judge to get the warrant?


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## dirtysox (Jun 22, 2009)

amen, the generator was powering the secret nuclear missle facility being set up by bad guys, and the utility worker used his James Bond instinct to stop the worst from happening.  That same worker has the power to tell you to do anything, and you must follow his instruction, or be tortured.  As for the search warrant, they dont need to tell the judge much, other than weapons of mass destruction are in the house.  Sometimes I wonder if I am an alien living here among stupid humans?  What happened to society?  This is why I smoke, man is its own worst enemy, and the end is near.  Just my opinion

Whats worse, is that if the dude at the house kept the bill paid, then no james bond utility worker, and yes Im going guess the generator was hardwired into the home.


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## zipflip (Jun 22, 2009)

> he also noticed other suspicious items around the residence, such as soil and privacy fencing,


 so now soil and privacy fencing are considered as part of the list for probable cause for warrant now..?
  i got tons of soil and a fence in my back yard. bout 1000sq ft of soil bout mile deep:rofl: 

but really tho wat do you expect if you dont pay your electric bill and your growing.  jmo if ya gonna grow pay all your bills on time especially ones that involve local maintanance dudes comin to or around your residence. cable phone electricity water etc...  jmo
  and really if i had 40 plants inside and the electric guy tells me to turn the generator off, im not gonna argue wit him


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## zipflip (Jun 22, 2009)

blondeboy said:
			
		

> I was wondering if utility workers rat ppl out. I have a plant growing near my electric box that now must be moved else where.


  that woulda ben the last place i woulda even put a plant myself. lol  
  really tho when ya put a plant sumwhere  keep in mind traffic in area and reasons anyone would have to be in that area also.   
 plus did you know that sometimes they have dudes who come into your yard to rread your meteres dependin on where you are.. occassionally.  they do round here anyways..

MRKINGFORD<<<<





> ahh, a search warrant for what ?
> A running generator? No one answering the door ?
> Sometimes i think a lot is left out of these stories by either the press not getting ALL the facts or the cops.
> What did they tell the judge to get the warrant?
> __________________



if i was this guy i would definately fight it in court and have my lawyer supress wat if any evidence they had/reason to even get a warrant in the first place, cuz if they didnt have sufficient grounds to obtain the warrant in the first place, regardless of wat they found the case is dismissed.


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## viper1951 (Jun 22, 2009)

man was this dude rich or something 18 hours a day running a generator is alot of freaking gas must have been tapping everyone's gas tanks at night 
Hey why doesn't he just put up a sign "Hey i'm stupid" how do you explain a generator running 18 hours a day ? and no apparent work being done to justifie it.  this guy should have" Hey I'm stupid tattooed on his fore head " to for warn people he mite be around


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## stonedrone (Jun 23, 2009)

So he could afford the gas to run a generator all or most of the day, but he couldn't pay his electric bill. What a d-bag. He shouldn't go to jail but somebody ought to smack him around a bit.


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## dirtysox (Jun 23, 2009)

with a generator in a residential area, im sure the cops could be called in on a noise complaint, depending on how obnoxius it was, but the more the members here keep pointing out this chump monkeys mistakes, the more sense it makes.    
if the generator was  hardwired, I would love to see a pic of that.    
heres the math on it, in my opinion, 40 plants equals, pay the bills equals, keeps nosey people away equals, if someone shows at the grow equals, do whatever you have to, so they are happy equals, keep low profile equals, grower didnt act in the mentioned fashion equals busted
Im all quick to say hey the electrical worker is a jack, when maybe he was trying to warn this guy, and when the electrican saw him acting like a tool, he went to the policia, thus the weak evidence to support the claim to warrant a search
man, im the tool


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## mrkingford (Jun 23, 2009)

If it was hard wired it would be wired INSIDE where the electric guy could NOT see.
Where i live many, many PEOPLE HAVE GENERATORS cause of the storms here in the winter.
As stonedrone said; How did he afford gas but not electric?
I don't see how they got a warrant, but again he probably said SOMETHING that alerted to the grow while talking to the utility guy.


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## Flyinghigh (Jun 23, 2009)

Just show you that one must pay the electric bill No Matter what..!!!
I know when I hook a 1000 watt soon my bill going to jump up to about 60 bucks more, then what I pay now..
So pay that bill...


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## intellenoob (Jun 23, 2009)

i bet they used a generator to keep from having the electric company report them. sweet, sweet irony.


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## viper1951 (Jun 23, 2009)

I run all of my lights on 240 volt  as you can run 2 1000 watts for the price of 1 on 120 volt  and you get more bud too best way to go . my friend grows with 600 watts and he doesn't get any where near the buds I get . it always blows his mind when he comes over


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## PencilHead (Jun 23, 2009)

In Florida after a big blow, I hard-wire into my house, BUT--I duct tape the outside breaker box shut with a big note saying I'm on auxilliary generated power.  It's a redundancy because inside I've pulled my big main wires out of the inside breaker box.  Just a courtesy to the guys trying to re-power the neighborhood not to fry one of them.

This guy?  He was just an idiot.  Someone's brother who was being paid to sit around and watch TV, smoke crank and run from the power guys.  Uh, Polk County Florida ain't exactly the epicenter of rational thinking, to be truthfull.


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## Super Silver Haze (Jun 23, 2009)

PencilHead said:
			
		

> Uh, Polk County Florida ain't exactly the epicenter of rational thinking, to be truthfull.


 
POLK  =  People Of Little Knowledge


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## RCCIZMe (Jun 24, 2009)

he was high, thats the only explanation
playing hide and seek with the utility co


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## The Hemp Goddess (Jun 24, 2009)

viper1951 said:
			
		

> I run all of my lights on 240 volt  as you can run 2 1000 watts for the price of 1 on 120 volt ...



I'm sorry, but this is simply incorrect.  It cost the same to run a 1000W light whether you are running 120 or 240.  If you are running 240, you are just pulling 1/2 the amps, but this does not impact your electrical usage.


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## AcesUp (Jun 24, 2009)

The Hemp Goddess said:
			
		

> I'm sorry, but this is simply incorrect. It cost the same to run a 1000W light whether you are running 120 or 240. If you are running 240, you are just pulling 1/2 the amps, but this does not impact your electrical usage.


 

I agree. No difference in power consumption.


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## That crazy vancouver guy (Jun 24, 2009)

The Hemp Goddess said:
			
		

> I'm sorry, but this is simply incorrect. It cost the same to run a 1000W light whether you are running 120 or 240. If you are running 240, you are just pulling 1/2 the amps, but this does not impact your electrical usage.


 
lol...ummm, HG... no, *you* are incorrect... and he is right...

this is why yer a plumber, and not an electrician... LMAO  

think of electricity this way, so you understand it... think of voltage as pressure, and electricity itself (electrons) as water molecules.  

it's the amount of power that gets used (mass of water/electrons) - which is the measure of amperage used - that you get charged for... at 240V over 120V, the amperage is cut in half, so only half the power is used...

theoretically, everything _should_ be run on 240V to be most efficient, but of course, that is just not practical....


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## PencilHead (Jun 24, 2009)

RCCIZMe said:
			
		

> he was high, thats the only explanation
> playing hide and seek with the utility co


 
I agree, but I've never been _that_ high on buds.  That's why I suggested that it was probably a crank thing.  Right neighborhood for cookers--rural Florida. 

The problem with crank heads is that it's not that big of a jump from, "I think I'll go cut the grass," to "I think I'll go kill the neighbors."  Lovely stuff.  Brings out the best in our indigenous goobers.


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## smokybear (Jun 24, 2009)

Lol. Crazy story. Thanks FruityBud. Take care and be safe.


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