Grow House Junk Leads To Arrest

LAKE PLACID - A Hialeah man was free Thursday on $5,500 bail after he was arrested and charged with operating a marijuana grow house operation at 320 Guymon Ave. N.W., in Placid Lakes.

Raul Alain Santos-Gonzalez, 28, was booked into jail May 22, on charges of conspiracy to produce marijuana production and conspiracy to traffick in excess of 25 pounds of marijuana or 300 or more plants.

"He was linked to numerous grow houses," said Sheriff's Capt. Randy LaBelle on Thursday. "The investigation is on-going."

LaBelle declined to say how Santos-Gonzalez was linked to the Guymon Avenue grow house.

The investigation began back on Nov. 28, 2006, when a Florida Fish and Wildlife officer, Robert O'Horo, came upon an illegal dump site about two miles away from Guymon Avenue. The site reportedly consisted of a large number of plastic bags containing items belonging with an indoor marijuana grow house operation; plants, cuttings, fertilizer, PVC pipe, etc.

O'Horo saw a white Chevrolet van approach the site but when the driver saw him, he backed out and sped off, trying to avoid O'Horo. But O'Horo was able to take down a plate number.

On Feb. 2, 2007, Santos-Gonzalez was stopped for a traffic violation. During a search of his van he was arrested on a charge of possession of a small amount of marijuana. His van was towed.
On Feb. 3, 2007, sheriff's investigators along with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement obtained a warrant to search the 320 Guymon Ave. home.

In two guest bathrooms and the garage, deputies discovered 95 marijuana plants, the arrest report stated, still in pots with the root systems attached. The walls were covered in silver foam board used to reflect light. There were two high wattage ceiling lights controlled by automatic timers.

Each room had its own irrigation system and the climate was controlled by additional air conditioners.