Narcotics agents reportedly seized almost $19,000 and five firearms from a Cottondale man accused of converting a walk-in closet into an indoor marijuana farm, court documents filed last week show.

As the Thread previously reported, the West Alabama Narcotics Task Force raided a home on Rifle Range Road on December 1st, where 50-year-old Jake Halladay was reportedly growing and selling large amounts of marijuana.

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Police found nine marijuana plants in the house -- two that were dead, two that had been trimmed down to their stems, and five growing inside a heat-controlled tent inside a walk-in closet along with bags of soil, functioning water lines, power sources and ventilation.

Police said they seized drugs, guns and cash from the house, but arrest documents and asset forfeiture documents are filed separately and the details of the seizure were not publicly available at the time of the arrest.

The new court documents said WANTF discovered 500 grams of weed in
multiple places throughout the house, the grow operation, five handguns of various calibers and $18,912 cash.

Halladay allegedly grew and harvested marijuana in the house and sold to customers on the property. He was charged with the unlawful manufacture of a controlled substance and placed in the Tuscaloosa County Jail, where his bond is set at $500,000.

If a judge rules the money seized from the home is the fruit of criminal behavior, it will be surrendered and distributed to local agencies -- historically split between WANTF and the Tuscaloosa County District Attorney's Office.

For more exclusive coverage of crime and courts in West Alabama, stay connected to the Tuscaloosa Thread.

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