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Cops Sense A Buzz: Use Electric Bill To Snag Alleged Pot Grower
O’Ryan Johnson | Boston Herald | 11/24/2005

So much for the field of dreams: The Hanover son of a former Red Sox star was busted for a bountiful harvest of marijuana plants Tuesday.

Christopher Piersall, 34, one of nine children of Jimmy Piersall, a one-time center fielder, was charged with four crimes: trafficking, cultivating, distributing and manufacturing marijuana, according to The Patriot Ledger.

Piersall was zapped in a high-tech police investigation that used electricity bills and infrared cameras to ID the weed factory.

Hanover police Chief Paul Hayes told the paper Piersall was under investigation for four months before he was arrested Tuesday morning.

Police subpoenaed Piersall’s huge electric bill and used a heat-sensing camera in their investigation which found the source of the heat and power expenses: hydroponic plant growing equipment that uses high-intensity bulbs to grow marijuana.

Police carted off 175 plants valued at roughly $100,000.

The elder Piersall, a major leaguer from 1950-1967 and two-time All-Star, played for the Red Sox between 1950 and 1958.

He retired in 1967 with 1,604 hits and 104 home runs, according to the Web site baseballlibrary.com. He once brawled in the bowels of Fenway with Yankee Billy Martin in 1952, but he’s perhaps most famous for running around the bases backward after hitting his 100th career home run with the Mets, who released him four days later.

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killer12382

Straight up greed. There are ways to grow indoors without the huge concentrated electric bill. But NO...this guy had to grow all his weed in one spot.
I wonder how many of those 175 plants were seedlings or clones ready for a SOG operation.

king cola

"hydroponic plant growing equipment that uses high-intensity bulbs to grow marijuana."

Can't they just say grow lights to grow plants, that equipment isn't just meant to grow marijuana, in this case it was but they make it sound like it's just used for marijuana.

If they ever visited a legal plant growing place they would see that those same lights that people use to grow pot are used to grow legal fruits and vegetables!

I also wonder how many of those 175 plants were males or females, seedlings, or clones, that were ready for SOG too.

escaping_pigs

I knew a guy that lived in pennsylvania that used a gas generator to gorw his marijuana so the electris wouldn't be effected. Cause I have heard of this sort of this with the electric but before. Also I heard about an electric company employee that used a huge increase in electricity to robb a grower and steal his plants. Its funny but u don't expect yuor electricity to get u busted. Thats why if your going to do anything illegal at all u need to cover all sides.
I agree about the bulb issue and the hydroponics equipment, my garnda uses the same lights in her greenhouse in ohio to grow different legal plants that I used to grow my green back in the day. I actually ordered too many and gave them to her. Funny how that is. But treporters and cops list things and label them by the bust. Just like say a crack bust, cops will label things associated with that as crack things. Thats just how it is.
I wonder how much jail or prison time the person is getting. That is always my question on drug busts since it varies so much.

killer12382

A high electric bill isn't enough for a search warrent. Too many things could be the cause of a high electric bill. A hot tub, space heater,bad AC unit. It can be a red flag but not enough for a search warrent.
Judge....give me a warrant because this guy is using too much electricity and that tells me he's breaking the law. NOPE...got to have more than that.

 

Higher Logic

Actually, a high electric bill is enough for that. Read this article for more information. And a "high electric bill" implies that, for the area and size of the house, the bill exceeds the normal amount.Washing clothes, growing plants, whatever the case, they can obtain a warrant. It's a blatantly targetted warrant too.

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killer12382

A good lawyer would have a field day with that warrant. Oh I'm sure there are ignorant judges that may issue a warrant but to do that with just the electric bill alone is inviting the appeals court to overturn the verdict and throw out all evidence obtained through the invalid warrant. That lawyer would use the case you mentioned along with a host of other legal possibilities that could result in a high electric bill. I am vaguely familiar with that case and thought the cops were also using bad info from a narc along with the electric bill. Could be wrong though.

killer12382

Read that article and there is also "testimony" from a drug sniffing dog that there MIGHT be cannabis there or thats how the police took the dog reaction to the original pass through before the warrant was issued. That was prabably the main reason for the warrant. The cops and legal system put alot of stock in what a dog "feels" towards a person or situation.