Roy Diaz, 38, of Miami, faces charges of marijuana trafficking and possession/use of narcotic equipment.
Following the execution of a narcotics search warrant April 2 at 288 14th Ave. N.E., crime scene investigators processed the residence for evidence and collected fingerprints on the equipment used to grow marijuana, detectives said.
When the prints were submitted to the Collier County Sheriff’s Office Identification Section, they came back as a match to Diaz, detectives said.
Deputies arrested Diaz at the CCSO Jail Visitation Center on Wednesday, where he was visiting the two co-defendants in the case - Marco Antonio Lainez, 41,and Pamela Evelyn Lainez, 38. The Lainezes, who are brother and sister, were arrested April 2, on marijuana trafficking charges.
Original news release
Deputies Find $500K In Marijuana Plants In Estates Grow House
Collier County Sheriff's Office
Posted Date: 4/3/2013 11:15 AM
Deputies arrested two people and uncovered 165 marijuana plants valued at nearly $500,000 at a Golden Gate Estates home Tuesday.
Detectives with the Collier County Sheriff’s Office Vice and Narcotics Bureau, with assistance from the CCSO Special Response Bureau, executed a narcotics search warrant at 288 14th Ave. N.E.
Detectives discovered that two rooms inside the residence and the three-car garage had been converted into indoor marijuana grow rooms. The search turned up a total of 165 plants with an estimated street value of $495,000.
The grow rooms had equipment that detectives say are typically associated with growing marijuana. Detectives found 29 1,000-watt high-intensity light bulbs that were powered by high-power transformers. There were large buckets, an electrical panel that controlled the electrical components that operated the grow rooms, mylar, two additional air conditioning units that provided cool air to the marijuana plants, and high-grade fertilizer.
Detectives also found items used for the grow operation in the kitchen pantry including a digital scale to weigh narcotics and heat sealer bags to package narcotics. The laundry room, located next to the garage, contained several gallon-size bottles of liquid fertilizer that were being used to fertilize the marijuana plants.
The indoor marijuana grow equipment was valued at approximately $30,000.
Marco Antonio Lainez, 41,and Pamela Evelyn Lainez, 38, who both reside at the residence, were home when the search warrant was executed. They are brother and sister, according to arrest reports.
They were arrested and charged with one count each of marijuana trafficking and possession of narcotic equipment. Marco Lainez was also charged with possession of a structure for the purpose of trafficking marijuana.
