Cottondale Man Caught Growing Weed in Closet, Police Seize Drugs, Cash and Guns
Narcotics agents arrested a Tuscaloosa County man who was allegedly growing marijuana in his walk-in closet in Cottondale last week, according to court documents obtained by the Tuscaloosa Thread.
In a deposition filed Wednesday, agents with the West Alabama Narcotics Task Force said they were executing a search warrant at a home on Rifle Range Road in Cottondale last Thursday when they made the bust.
Police reportedly discovered the grow operation in the walk-in closet of a bedroom belonging to 50-year-old Jake Halladay.
Agents said they found "a large zip-up heat-controlled tent" in the closet along with bags of soil, functioning water lines, power sources and ventilation. Five one-foot-tall marijuana plants were growing in the tent, and two more were reportedly found outside the tent that had been completely trimmed down to their stems.
Police say they found shears, hanging lines for drying the marijuana, digital scales, baggies and other packaging materials in the closet and tent.
"It appeared that the entire closet had been turned into a lab for the growth and production of the marijuana plants and the product they yield," agents said in the charging documents.
Police said they found "a large sum of cash" and five firearms at the residence. They found vacuum-sealed bags and mason jars that were or had been filled with marijuana, and ultimately seized just over two pounds of the controlled substance from the home.
Officers also report finding "an extremely large" amount of paraphernalia, including pipes, scales and bongs.
Halladay was charged with first-degree manufacturing of a controlled substance, first-degree possession of marijuana and failure to affix a tax stamp to the product.
He was booked in the Tuscaloosa County Jail, where he remained Wednesday with a combined bond set at $530,000.