Northport Warrant Leads To Takedown Of Suffolk Marijuana Growing Operation

A search warrant executed in 2013 by Northport Police led to the September 19 arrest of a Manorville man who was caught with more than 100 marijuana plants in a subterranean grow house on his property, police said.

According to the Suffolk County Chief Deputy Sheriff Michael Sharkey, the discovery of the marijuana "forest" off Old School House Road came after a months-long investigation. Northport Police Chief Bill Ricca told Patch that without information from the October 2013 search warrant related to drug sales on Woodbine Avenue, this case would "never have came to be."

Information in that case led authorities to Donald Guichard, Ricca said. A search warrant issued on Sept. 19 resulted in seizure of more than 100 marijuana plants, in addition to previously harvested marijuana in various stages of the drying process prior to packing for sale, totaling more than 30 pounds.

The entire operation was concealed on a wooded lot where the marijuana was grown in a subterranean grow house which was covered by a utility storage building, Sharkey said.

Ricca said trap doors in the home led to the marijuana growing operation. Authorities also recovered two loaded handguns, he said.

The Woodbine Avenue search warrant four years ago put Guichard on Northport Police's radar and there were other incidents in between then and Sept. 19, but it was important to be patient in this case, Ricca said.

"Sometimes being patient and following the breadcrumbs is the way to do it," he said.

There were opportunities to arrest Guichard for selling small quantities of marijuana, but four years of patience led to the takedown of his marijuana growing operation, Ricca said.

Guichard was charged with multiple felonies, including first-degree sale of marijuana and criminal possession of a weapon.

Surveillance in the investigation was conducted by the sheriff’s office with assistance from Northport Village Police Department.

Initially, informant based leads were supplied to sheriff’s office investigators, which were subsequently corroborated by a detective from Northport Village Police Department, authorities said.

Ricca said the Northport Police was happy to serve the people of Northport and all of Suffolk County in getting a dangerous person off the street.

Guichard is currently being held at the Suffolk County Correctional Facility in lieu of $50,000 cash bail or $100,000 bond pending the disposition of the case, the release said.

Photos courtesy Suffolk County Sheriff's Department.

Patch editor Lisa Finn contributed to this report