Crime & Safety
Bloomingdale Home Used To Grow $1 Million in Marijuana: Sheriff
Detectives recovered 41 mature marijuana plants weighing 522 pounds from a Bloomingdale Oaks home.
VALRICO, FL -- A Valrico man's horticulture hobby landed him in jail this week. On Jan. 16, Hillsborough County Sheriff's detectives raided a house at 1513 Kyle Court in Bloomingdale Oaks across from Bloomingdale High School, and found that two bedrooms in the three-bedroom home had been converted for the sole purpose of cultivating marijuana.
Detectives recovered 41 mature marijuana plants weighing 522 pounds. It has a street value of $1,044,000.
TECO workers also found an illegal electric connection that was sending unmetered electricity to the house. TECO says the rigged device stole $7,713.57 worth of electricity.
Find out what's happening in Brandonfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The resident of the home, Victor Perez Madrigal, 49, was arrested and charged with possession of marijuana with intent to sell, trafficking in marijuana (25 to 2,000 pounds), possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of controlled substances, third degree grand theft and maintain a place for drug use.
Images via Hillsborough Sheriff
Find out what's happening in Brandonfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
(For more local news from Florida, click here to sign up for real-time news alerts and newsletters from Patch. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app; download the free Patch Android app here.)
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
