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Nestled at the edge of a vegetable garden Friday in western Limestone County were a dozen impressive marijuana plants.
“They were between three and 8-feet tall,” Limestone County Sheriff’s Lt. Lance Royals said of the robust, green cannabis crop.
But, a state trooper helicopter and two Limestone County Sheriff’s officials ended the crop’s skyward quest Friday morning, arresting the alleged gardener at the same time.
“State troopers were doing their yearly eradication, looking for marijuana, and they found some plants out in west Limestone,” Royals said.
The plants were spotted behind a house at the edge of a regular garden.
“I guess they were growing it right along with their summer vegetables,” Royals said.
Singling out 12 marijuana plants from the air sounds impossible.
“These guys are trained to find it,” Royals said. “Marijuana has kind of a glare to it. It reflects and looks completely different from a tree or another plant.”
Narcotics Investigator Johnny Morell and Deputy Tom Gilbert went to the scene to assist the state officers. They arrested Troy Dale Lovell, 47, of 7259 Tommy Hill Road in Anderson on a charge of trafficking marijuana, a felony. He was released from the Limestone County Jail after posting a $20,000 bail.
Another suspect fled into nearby woods and is still at-large, Royals said.
The officers also confiscated the 12 marijuana plants, which weighed in at about 2.25 pounds, he said.
Royals said each plant is worth about $2,000 — a total of $24,000 in this case.
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