Cd'A man arrested during pot bust

SPOKANE VALLEY - A 21-year-old Coeur d'Alene man was arrested late Tuesday for allegedly operating an illegal marijuana operation at a Spokane Valley home in which 273 plants were recovered.

Cole Brown was booked into the Spokane County Jail for manufacturing a controlled substance. More arrests are pending.

Brown told police he had been staying off and on at the home on north Conklin Road and also living in Coeur d'Alene.

"Detectives hope to stem any trend from developing where Idaho marijuana growers set up illegal operations across the border in Washington to try and take advantage of more lenient state laws regarding the drug," a Spokane Valley Police press release states.

Detectives served a search warrant at the Spokane Valley home and discovered the rental house had been converted into an alleged illegal marijuana growing operation.

A male and female were staying part time in one of the bedrooms, and tending to the plants that were in various stages of maturity, the press release states. The home's wiring and ventilation had been altered to accommodate commercial grow equipment and there were signs of mold growth and other issues in the home associated with long-term indoor grow operations.

Neighbors in the area had become suspicious when they never saw the new renters, the press release states. All the windows were blacked out and vehicles parked mostly behind the house, hidden from view.

Detectives conducted surveillance and noticed that all the vehicles frequenting the residence had Idaho plates. Further investigation established probable cause for the search warrant.

Brown and an adult female, who was not arrested and also claimed to be living in Coeur d'Alene, both smelled of marijuana, but claimed no knowledge of a marijuana growing operation at the house, according to police. Neither claimed to use or grow marijuana for medicinal reasons.

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Cd'A man arrested during pot bust