Sheriff's Department Uses Google Earth to Pinpoint Marijuana Fields

BluntKilla

New Member
The Racine County Sheriff's Department used Google Earth – an online mapping program – last week to pinpoint marijuana fields in Mount Pleasant and bust a Racine man for harvesting pot.

The investigation began Friday after Racine County Sheriff's deputies pulled over Dean Brown, 37, of Racine, near highways 75 and 20, according to a criminal complaint. A deputy smelled marijuana as he approached the car, and discovered 18 pounds of freshly harvested marijuana in the car's cargo area. The marijuana, stuffed in two large garbage bags with heavy stems poking through the plastic, was worth between $63,000 and $140,000.

Brown was arrested for felony drug possession, but that was just the beginning of the investigation. Deputies found a GPS unit around Brown's neck with coordinates to areas throughout Racine County, the complaint said.

On Saturday, Metro Drug agents plugged coordinates saved in Brown's GPS unit into Google Earth, a searchable compilation of satellite images available through the Internet. By entering the coordinates, agents were able to find the locations in Racine County programmed into the GPS unit.

Members of the Metro Drug Unit went to two sites off Dover Line Road, near where Brown was arrested. They first found six plants tied to corn stalks with string to hold them up. The roots had vermiculite around them, which is often used to start plants at home before transplanting them elsewhere. The next site had two plants growing in a field.

Authorities confiscated the plants, bagged them in burlap and locked them away to dry.

On Sunday, agents entered additional coordinates into Google Earth and found a grow site in Mount Pleasant, between Highway C, Kraut Road and Interstate 94. They found two plots in a very large cornfield, and pulled out three plants.

Brown faces six criminal charges: possession of marijuana with intent to deliver, possession of drug paraphernalia, and four counts of manufacturing marijuana.

Brown has been charged as a repeat drug offender, which increases his possible prison time for felony charges by four years. If convicted on all charges, he could face a maximum penalty of $90,500 in fines and 59 years in prison.

Newshawk: Bluntkilla - 420 Magazine
Source: Journal Times
Pubdate: 10/16/06
Author: Janine Anderson
Copyright: 2006 The Journal Times
Contact: contact
Website: The Journal Times Online
 
Geez, I can see it now. It will become a hobby for enforcement occifers to google earth their areas to see what they can find.
 
danker said:
some of those maps are rather old. isnt burlap made from hemp?
yeah the one for my area is 2 or 3 years old, i hope the poes dont get the up to date version then all us outdoor growers are screwed
 
Awwww, i'm disapointed. I thought this was gonna be some lie about some billy-bob cop that was pokin' round on his 'puter and seeing a pot garden on google earth. Yeah the sat photo's are old, depending on the area.
 
its bullshit for now but if they can pin point hot spots all over the globe don't be mis led our goverment talks out of both sides of its mouth while whistling dixie in the middle on a state and national level
 
Id personally never have anything to worry about, but i think itd take too much time to sit and look for pot plants unless they were already suspicious of a certain area...
 
For the Grower or" wanna be" had to use a GPS unit to keep track of things than he deserved to get caught. It is a shame though that US TAX Payers Dollars were spent to confiscate the weed. An now to house this person. Had he obtained A Tax Stamp or had the option of obtain a Marijuana Tax Stamp, he probably would not be in the corn fields. How un grower like. He ought to be given a sentence for being Stupid. 1 year community service, and a fine of what it cost to have the County Mounties bust him looking for 6-9 plants...
To those who read this. No records, no maps, no trace. Be slient be unseen , be unheard. Stealth Mode. If you live where laws allow certain things, do it. If Not, do not.
 
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