By Erika Platt, eplatt@advertiser-tribune.com
REPUBLIC — Police found 1,205 marijuana plants scattered throughout a Republic residence early Thursday morning after receiving tips of drug activity from local citizens.
Michael D. Newcome, 47, was arrested for an outstanding bench warrant out of Tiffin Municipal Court but now may face drug charges after a substantial number of marijuana plants, drug paraphernalia, criminal tools and firearms were discovered at his home, according to a release from the Seneca County Drug Task Force- METRICH Enforcement Unit.
“The marijuana plants were found both inside and outside,” lead investigator Sgt. Don Joseph of the Seneca County Sheriff’s Office said Friday. “The bulk of the plants were found on the second floor balcony.”
Seneca County Drug Task Force-METRICH Enforcement Unit, consisting of the Tiffin Police Department, Seneca County Sheriff’s Office and the Seneca County Prosecutor’s Office, performed the search at Newcome’s residence, 4364 N. TR 179, where he lives with 21-year-old Teresa M. Gaulke.
The marijuana plants were in an early maturation stage, Joseph said, but with an estimated street value for a mature, one-pound marijuana plant at $1,000, Newcome’s crop could have been worth more than $1.2 million.
Joseph said drug charges for Newcome are pending results from the lab.
“We have to dry the plants, pack them up and send them to the lab to get their weight,” Joseph said.
The plants also will have to undergo tests to confirm they indeed are marijuana.
If the tests reveal the marijuana yields an amount substantial for felony charges, Joseph said Newcome’s case will be forwarded to the Seneca County Prosecutor’s Office.
“I’m sure it will be a felony amount,” he said of the suspected marijuana.
Joseph said this isn’t the first time police have dealt with drug activity from Newcome, and said the Republic man was arrested in 1999 after police found marijuana at another one of Newcome’s residences.
Current charges pending for Newcome include possession of marijuana; possession of drug paraphernalia; marijuana cultivation; possession of firearms while under disability; and possession of criminal tools.
Joseph said Newcome was being held at the Seneca County Jail for his bench warrant, but that he has posted a $3,000 bond.
“We appreciate tips from citizens. That’s how we were able to infiltrate this,” Joseph said.
