Bust shuts down local pot-growing operation

By LPR Staff
Editor/POST-REGISTER

A drug raid late last week yielded State Jail Felony charges against two local residents and the seizure of thousands of dollars worth of marijuana plants. In addition, it brought to a halt a “grow” operation thought to have been engaged in business in Lockhart for several months.

Members of the Lockhart Police Dep

artment and Caldwell County Sheriff’s Department Narcotics Task Force executed a search warrant on Friday afternoon at a residence in the 200 block of Comanche Trail. The warrant was obtained after an informant reported an expansive growing operation taking place in a storage shed on the property.

Executing the warrant, officers seized 32 marijuana plants, one measuring nearly six feet tall.

“This one was probably his ‘parent plant,’ the one he took cuttings from to grow the others,” Sgt. Richard Torres, one of the department’s leading narcotics officers, said of the large plant. “This is the one that had the pH sensor in it, and it’s been growing for a while.”

Torres said it appeared the suspects had invested a great deal of time and energy into retrofitting the storage room for growing marijuana, and had insulated the building, installed skylights and reflectors, an irrigation system and air conditioning conduits.

The only access to the building was through a crawlspace built from the main residence, which Torres said was accessible through the bedroom of one of the children living in the home.

In the storage room, and elsewhere in the residence, officers found evidence that the marijuana was being grown for sale, including plastic baggies, storage jars, and harvested marijuana in various stages of the drying process.

They also seized a brick of marijuana weighing nearly two pounds.

Two suspects, Michael Henrickson, 20, and Victoria Garcia, 35, were arrested without incident during the raid. Both will be charged with State Jail Felonies in connection with the growth, possession and alleged distribution of the drugs. Henrickson’s arrest record includes several other arrests for Possession of Marijuana.

Two children living in the home were taken into CPS custody after the arrest.

To report drug activity in your area, contact the Lockhart Police Department at (512) 398-4401. The identities of those making reports of illegal activity can be kept confidential by law enforcement.