Original Blog Entry: 17 Pot Plants Had To Be Moved After Burglary Man Tells Police

truesee — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 16:05:04 GMT

Pot plants had to be moved after burglary, man tells police

Officers found 17 plants in pickup truck bed

Dana Treen

The Florida Times-Union

Story updated at 4:51 AM on Tuesday, Mar. 10, 2009

Jacksonville, FL --A man arrested with 17 pot plants in the bed of his pickup told police he was moving them to protect them from burglars who hit his house the night before.

Ryan N. Smith, 26, of the 2700 block of Leonid Road, was charged with cultivating marijuana after police acting on a tip that two men were loading pot plants onto the green pickup just before noon Saturday. After police stopped the truck on Lem Turner Road they smelled a strong pot odor from the truck bed. They found the plants beneath the a cover, according to an arrest report. Smith told police he grew the plants and was moving them due to the earlier burglary.

A man driving the truck, Raymond S. Rhude, 32, of the 1900 block of Thomas Drive, was charged with felony pot possession. He told police he was driving the truck only because Smith s license was suspended.

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