Wilbur
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Five men are in custody this morning after an intensive all night manhunt in the area of I-75 South and Corkscrew Road, a spokesman for the Lee County sheriff's office said.
The hunt, which involved sheriff's deputies, highway patrol troopers and officers from the Florida Gulf Coast University police, saw dogs tracking through wooded areas and a helicopter illuminating the scene from overhead.
It began at 12:56 a.m. when sheriff's sergeant Pete Hedrick spotted a white Lincoln Navigator travelling south on the interstate with the stalks of several marijuana plants sticking out of the rear, sheriff's sergeant Larry King said.
"He initiated a traffic stop by the Corkscrew Road exit and the five men ran from the car into a wooded area," he added.
One man was captured within a half hour, King said, and the others were apprehended over the next several hours.
Deputies later recovered four handguns in the Navigator, sheriff's deputy Angelo Vaughn said.
All five of the men have been arrested, King said. Officers are waiting to make a positive identification on the the fifth man, found in the woods wet, dirty and disheveled, King said.
Deputies suspect they happened across a marijuana "grow operation," King said. Early estimates described "a substantial number" of marijuana plants in the car, he added.
At its height, teams of officers and several police dogs combed the woods, King said. Searchers also used a canoe supplied by the FGCU Police, King added.
Newshawk: User - 420 Magazine
Source: The News-Press
Pubdate: 30 November 2006
Author: Ed Johnson
Copyright: 2006 The News-Press
Contact: ejohnson@news-press.com
Website: The News-Press: Home
The hunt, which involved sheriff's deputies, highway patrol troopers and officers from the Florida Gulf Coast University police, saw dogs tracking through wooded areas and a helicopter illuminating the scene from overhead.
It began at 12:56 a.m. when sheriff's sergeant Pete Hedrick spotted a white Lincoln Navigator travelling south on the interstate with the stalks of several marijuana plants sticking out of the rear, sheriff's sergeant Larry King said.
"He initiated a traffic stop by the Corkscrew Road exit and the five men ran from the car into a wooded area," he added.
One man was captured within a half hour, King said, and the others were apprehended over the next several hours.
Deputies later recovered four handguns in the Navigator, sheriff's deputy Angelo Vaughn said.
All five of the men have been arrested, King said. Officers are waiting to make a positive identification on the the fifth man, found in the woods wet, dirty and disheveled, King said.
Deputies suspect they happened across a marijuana "grow operation," King said. Early estimates described "a substantial number" of marijuana plants in the car, he added.
At its height, teams of officers and several police dogs combed the woods, King said. Searchers also used a canoe supplied by the FGCU Police, King added.
Newshawk: User - 420 Magazine
Source: The News-Press
Pubdate: 30 November 2006
Author: Ed Johnson
Copyright: 2006 The News-Press
Contact: ejohnson@news-press.com
Website: The News-Press: Home
