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Grow house busted after teen goes to school smelling of pot

Three Pasco marijuana growing operations found
Posted at 5:19 PM, Oct 24, 2016
and last updated 2016-10-25 02:12:45-04

Inside a Hudson house, in a quiet subdivision, the Pasco Sheriff’s Office said a couple grew marijuana plants.

20 of them in converted walk-in closets. Pictures appear to show pot in the pantry too.

Deputies found their way to the home after one of three teens living in the home went to school reeking of pot.

That started the investigation.

Ruben Rodriguez and Tiffany Arrington were not only arrested on drug charges, but also child neglect.

The grow house is one of three busted over the weekend in Pasco County.

MORE: Utility companies key in helping crack down on marijuana grow houses

Joe Diaz is in jail after deputies found 38 plants inside this New Port Richey home.

They also found a power tap, used to steal electricity from Duke Energy for months. The stolen power totaled almost $20,000.

You can see where deputies say someone dug a hole to connect directly to power lines, bypassing the meter.

About 10 miles away, another house with another grow operation.

This time 33 plants and another power tap.

Neighbors we talked to near these homes said they are glad the grow houses are gone, along with the shady characters they say frequented their streets.

But those residents didn’t want to go on camera and talk about what they saw because of the negative notoriety this kind of crime can bring to neighborhoods.

In all, Pasco investigators have busted at least 5 grow houses this month.

Back in Hudson, detectives didn’t have to search to long for evidence.

Two bags of marijuana plants were out on the curb for trash pick up.