Hemet police bust pot grower who advertised on Web site

[kiwi_farmer]

10:00 PM PDT on Saturday, October 11, 2008

 

By JULISSA McKINNON

The Press-Enterprise

 

A pot grower who advertised marijuana for sale on the classified advertising Web site Craigslist thought he was exchanging e-mails with a potential buyer earlier this week.

 

He later discovered he had been chatting with Hemet police investigators all along.

 

After several e-mails and phone calls, undercover agents from the Hemet Police Department's Crime Suppression Unit struck a deal with the grower to buy two ounces of high-grade marijuana, according to a police news release.

 

"It's kind of a free-for-all site, you can advertise for anything," Hemet police Sgt. Matt Hess said of Craigslist, adding that in recent years investigators have used the site to conduct several prostitution stings.

 

Friday marked the first time Hemet police discovered a drug dealer peddling his wares on Craigslist. The Web site features forums and ads from more than 550 cities in more than 50 countries.

 

About 8 p.m. Friday officers met the two Craigslist suspects at an agreed-upon spot near Highway 74 and Second Street just west of the Hemet city limits. Instead of scoring a sale, Ronald Gray, 36, of Moreno Valley and Frank Lewis, 30, of Wildomar, found themselves under arrest.

 

The investigation continued, leading to the search of Gray's home on Cambridge Court in Moreno Valley. With the help of Moreno Valley police, officers found a small indoor marijuana garden and a small quantity of pot being dried, in addition to a three-quarter pound of already packaged marijuana and an unloaded rifle.

 

The charges against the two suspects include possession of marijuana for sale, cultivation of marijuana, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and conspiracy to commit a felony.

[brick]

10:00 PM PDT on Saturday, October 11, 2008

 

By JULISSA McKINNON

The Press-Enterprise

 

A pot grower who advertised marijuana for sale on the classified advertising Web site Craigslist thought he was exchanging e-mails with a potential buyer earlier this week.

 

He later discovered he had been chatting with Hemet police investigators all along.

 

After several e-mails and phone calls, undercover agents from the Hemet Police Department's Crime Suppression Unit struck a deal with the grower to buy two ounces of high-grade marijuana, according to a police news release.

 

"It's kind of a free-for-all site, you can advertise for anything," Hemet police Sgt. Matt Hess said of Craigslist, adding that in recent years investigators have used the site to conduct several prostitution stings.

 

Friday marked the first time Hemet police discovered a drug dealer peddling his wares on Craigslist. The Web site features forums and ads from more than 550 cities in more than 50 countries.

 

About 8 p.m. Friday officers met the two Craigslist suspects at an agreed-upon spot near Highway 74 and Second Street just west of the Hemet city limits. Instead of scoring a sale, Ronald Gray, 36, of Moreno Valley and Frank Lewis, 30, of Wildomar, found themselves under arrest.

 

The investigation continued, leading to the search of Gray's home on Cambridge Court in Moreno Valley. With the help of Moreno Valley police, officers found a small indoor marijuana garden and a small quantity of pot being dried, in addition to a three-quarter pound of already packaged marijuana and an unloaded rifle.

 

The charges against the two suspects include possession of marijuana for sale, cultivation of marijuana, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and conspiracy to commit a felony.

 

Dumb fucks.