Drug agents seized more than 75 pounds of marijuana with a
street value upwards of $300,000 from the home of two Hollister
residents Thursday, who were growing the plants in a 50-foot
greenhouse at their home on Lovers Lane, according to police.
Hollister – Drug agents seized more than 75 pounds of marijuana with a street value upwards of $300,000 from the home of two Hollister residents Thursday, who were growing the plants in a 50-foot greenhouse at their home on Lovers Lane, according to police.
Agents of the Unified Narcotics Enforcement Team, a regional drug enforcement task force, arrested Sharyn Montalvo, 56, and Robert Alvarez, 43, at their residence at 7680 Lovers Lane around 10:30am on Thursday, according to UNET Commander Mark Colla.
UNET agents, along with San Benito County Sheriff’s deputies and the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s marijuana eradication team, found two pounds of groomed, dried marijuana inside the house, along with packaging materials and a scale, Colla said.
They also confiscated 75 plants growing in the outdoor greenhouse. Each plant, which was a month or two away from maturity, would have yielded about 1 pound of marijuana with a street value of about $4,000 per pound, Colla said.
“Mr. Alvarez stated he was selling the marijuana to friends and began growing it because he’d injured his back a long time ago,” Colla said. “Rather than seeing a doctor he thought marijuana would help.”
Neither Alvarez nor Montalvo, who have lived at the residence for about three years, were booked into the San Benito County Jail. Colla said they pose no flight risk and Montalvo has some heart problems and is on medication. Police confiscated the marijuana and left.
The couple was arrested for two felonies, including possession of marijuana for sale and cultivation of marijuana, Colla said. Because they have a 15-year-old daughter who visits the residence, Colla said a felony charge of child endangerment would be added because the drugs were kept in the open inside the house.
Colla forwarded the case to the San Benito County district attorney for charging.
Police were notified of the couple’s cache and greenhouse by a citizen informant sometime within the last 30 days, Colla said. The marijuana was being grown in the back of a 50-foot greenhouse.
The bust marks the first major seizure for the task force this marijuana-growing season, which usually begins around April or May and culminates at the end of August or beginning of September, Colla said. Last season netted police about 20,000 plants, he said.
