Deputies: Riverview Man Busted with $700K in Marijuana

A 27-year-old Riverview man faces a number of criminal charges after Hillsborough County Sheriff’s deputies say they discovered hundreds of marijuana plants growing inside his home.

Deputies served a search warrant at Daniel Gonzalez-Marin’s 10728 Deepbrook Drive home Thursday. When they arrived, Gonzalez-Marin tried to flee out of the back yard, but was stopped in his tracks by Deputy Lariz and canine Storm, the agency wrote in an email to media.

Once they were able to gain entry into the home, deputies discovered two rooms that had been altered for the sole purpose of growing marijuana, the email said.

“Each room contained several large marijuana plants with multiple high sodium vapor lights, ballasts and fans,” the email said. “The marijuana plants were growing in soiled pots with twine affixed to the stems to hold them in place.”

All told, deputies seized 70 marijuana plants that weighed in at 358 pounds. The estimated street value of the marijuana is $700,000, the agency noted.

Tampa Electric Co. was also called out to the scene and found an illegal electrical connection, the email said. The estimated value of electricity stolen is $8,800, the sheriff’s office said.

Gonzalez-Marin was charged with trafficking in marijuana, cultivation of marijuana, grand theft, and owning/leasing/renting a property for the purposes of trafficking. Gonzalez-Marin was being held without bond in the Hillsborough County Jail Friday morning.

Photos courtesy of the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office