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Two men were charged with trafficking marijuana by Grantville Police officers Monday when they attempted to pick up $70,000 in marijuana delivered to a vacant house.
Last week, said Grantville Police Chief Franklin Allen, city residents reported to the police department that someone was receiving packages sent via UPS to the vacant house at 69 Arnold St.
As a result of those tips, said Allen, UPS was contacted concerning the address in question, and as it turned out, there was another box shipping to that address from Mission, Texas.
The policy of UPS, said Allen, allows them to open packages at their discretion. When this one was opened, the company officials found a shrink-wrapped mass that had a look and smell consistent with that of marijuana.
The city's officers then coordinated with UPS to conduct a "controlled delivery" of the package to the Arnold Street address, said Allen.
The package was given to the UPS delivery driver Monday. As he made his rounds through Grantville, he remained under surveillance. Two Hispanic men approached the driver concerning the package going to 69 Arnold St., and the driver handed over the 35 pounds of marijuana.
Once the two men took possession of the package and secured it in their vehicle, officers conducted a traffic stop.
Prior to the arrest, said Allen, he obtained a search warrant for the package. When the box was taken into custody, officers opened it to find the marijuana, valued at an estimated $2,000 a pound on the street.
Cesar Hernandez Aguilera of Fayetteville Road, Union City, and Armando Mendoza Carranza of Inman Street, Fairburn, were both charged with trafficking marijuana.
Trafficking in marijuana is a felony, and depending on the amount, confinement ranges from five to 15 years, with fines from $25,000 to $200,000.
The alleged perpetrators, speculates Allen, targeted Grantville because it is a small town, and they expected a small police force. They found these houses were empty, probably by their own observations or asking neighbors who to call to rent a place.
"This is an example of great teamwork," said Allen of the investigation and arrests. Officer Sid Brown handled a lot of the behind-the-scenes leg work, said Allen, while Officer Pete Maldonado was extremely instrumental in conducting the interviews and interpreting.
"Even though we are a small town, we have a modern police force, which is able to handle whatever may come up. We are ready, willing and able to handle the challenges brought before us," said Allen Tuesday.
Newshawk: user - <A HREF="420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking">420 Magazine</A>
Source: The Times-Herald
Pubdate: November 1, 2006
Author: Camoran Johnson
Copyright: 2006 The Times-Herald
Website:Article Here
Contact: cameron@newnan.com
Last week, said Grantville Police Chief Franklin Allen, city residents reported to the police department that someone was receiving packages sent via UPS to the vacant house at 69 Arnold St.
As a result of those tips, said Allen, UPS was contacted concerning the address in question, and as it turned out, there was another box shipping to that address from Mission, Texas.
The policy of UPS, said Allen, allows them to open packages at their discretion. When this one was opened, the company officials found a shrink-wrapped mass that had a look and smell consistent with that of marijuana.
The city's officers then coordinated with UPS to conduct a "controlled delivery" of the package to the Arnold Street address, said Allen.
The package was given to the UPS delivery driver Monday. As he made his rounds through Grantville, he remained under surveillance. Two Hispanic men approached the driver concerning the package going to 69 Arnold St., and the driver handed over the 35 pounds of marijuana.
Once the two men took possession of the package and secured it in their vehicle, officers conducted a traffic stop.
Prior to the arrest, said Allen, he obtained a search warrant for the package. When the box was taken into custody, officers opened it to find the marijuana, valued at an estimated $2,000 a pound on the street.
Cesar Hernandez Aguilera of Fayetteville Road, Union City, and Armando Mendoza Carranza of Inman Street, Fairburn, were both charged with trafficking marijuana.
Trafficking in marijuana is a felony, and depending on the amount, confinement ranges from five to 15 years, with fines from $25,000 to $200,000.
The alleged perpetrators, speculates Allen, targeted Grantville because it is a small town, and they expected a small police force. They found these houses were empty, probably by their own observations or asking neighbors who to call to rent a place.
"This is an example of great teamwork," said Allen of the investigation and arrests. Officer Sid Brown handled a lot of the behind-the-scenes leg work, said Allen, while Officer Pete Maldonado was extremely instrumental in conducting the interviews and interpreting.
"Even though we are a small town, we have a modern police force, which is able to handle whatever may come up. We are ready, willing and able to handle the challenges brought before us," said Allen Tuesday.
Newshawk: user - <A HREF="420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking">420 Magazine</A>
Source: The Times-Herald
Pubdate: November 1, 2006
Author: Camoran Johnson
Copyright: 2006 The Times-Herald
Website:Article Here
Contact: cameron@newnan.com
