Johnston Police: Marijuana Grow Footsteps Away From Brown Avenue School

JOHNSTON, RI — The house at 9 Brown Ave., stands 194 feet (or about the length of two basketball courts laid end to end) away from the Brown Avenue School. At 10 a.m. Thursday, police raided the house, where they found a 47 marijuana plants and thousands of dollars’ worth of equipment associated with a marijuana grow.

Hector Rosa, 43, was arrested and charged with two felonies: Manufacture/Possession/Delivery of Schedule I/II; and Manufacturing of a Controlled Substance Near a School. (Per state law, it's an additional violation to sell marijuana within 300 feet of a school.) He is being held at the police station pending his arraignment on Friday. Deputy police Chief Daniel Parrillo said Rosa owns the house. He has no prior record. But based on the evidence seized Thursday, police executed a second search warrant at that property. They did not find additional contraband, he said.

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