$2.5 M in marijuana seized from grow-house and office in San Gabriel and Alhambra (PHOTOS)

Community Message has been issued by the LASD - Headquarters Newsroom (SHB), Los Angeles County Sheriff.


Friday May 13, 2011 4:56 PM PDT

$2.5 M in marijuana seized from grow-house and office in San Gabriel and Alhambra (PHOTOS)

(See Photos by clicking on the hyperlink at the bottom of this message)

Two suspects were arrested in connection with an illegal indoor marijuana grow operation in the San Gabriel Valley. Asian Gang Team deputies with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Operation Safe Streets (OSS) Bureau made the arrests and are handling the investigation.

Thursday, at about 4:00PM, investigators and Sheriff’s Special Weapons Team deputies served search warrants at two locations in the city of Alhambra and in an unincorporated area in San Gabriel.

The month-long investigation leading up to the service of the search warrant stemmed from information received by sheriff’s investigators regarding suspicious activity at the 800 block of South Date Avenue, Alhambra. The investigation quickly revealed the possibility of an illegal indoor marijuana grow being operated inside of a commercial building, which was being posed as a consultant’s office.

Deputies secured a search warrant for the Alhambra building as well as the residence of the person suspected of operating the indoor grow, located at the 9100 block of Huntington Drive, San Gabriel.

The suspect operating the indoor grow was identified as 30-year-old Joseph Hsu, a Chinese-American resident of San Gabriel.

Inside of the South Date Avenue location, deputies discovered a fully-operational indoor marijuana grow. Deputies dismantled the operation, seizing over 400 marijuana plants in different stages of growth. Approximately 100 pounds of dried marijuana and numerous pieces of hydroponic cultivation equipment were seized at that location. No suspects were there.

Hsu was located at his rented condominium in San Gabriel. A search of his home revealed a smaller indoor marijuana grow with about 40 plants and 40-50 pounds of dried marijuana. Two handguns and a shotgun were also seized at the location. Hsu, a convicted felon, was arrested for narcotics and weapons charges, and booked at Temple Sheriff’s Station, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. His bail was set at $35,000.00

A second person located at the condominium, 22-year Pauline McDonnell, a female White resident of Redlands, was also arrested for narcotics charges. Her bail was set at $20,000.00.

The combined total of the estimated street value of the seized marijuana was $2.5 million.
For questions or information regarding this case, please contact Sergeant Steve Kim of the Sheriff’s Asian Gang Team, Operation Safe Streets Bureau at (310) 603-3100. Partner to prevent or report crime by contacting your local Sheriff’s station. Or if you wish to remain Anonymous, call “LA Crime Stoppers” by dialing 800-222-TIPS (8477), texting the letters TIPLA plus your tip to CRIMES (274637), or using the website http://lacrimestoppers.org/

Sergeant Steve Kim
Asian Gang Team
Operation Safe Streets Bureau
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department
(310) 603-3100
www.lasd.org
Sent by: MjP
Sheriff's Headquarters Bureau - Newsroom
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
(323) 267-4800
SHBNewsroom@lasd.org
http://www.lasd.org/
(See photos by clcking on the hyperlink below)
For full details, go to http://local.nixle.com/alert/4690172/?sub_id=42580.