Couple Arrested for Growing 'Rotating' Marijuana Crop

Officers from Mount Pleasant and Racine executed a search warrant early Thursday morning and discovered a sophisticated marijuana grow operation, police say.

James and Barbara Lennon were charged Friday in Racine County Circuit Court with felony counts of possession/manufacture with the intent to deliver marijuana and maintaining a drug trafficking place. If they are convicted, they could each spend up to 16 years in jail and/or be fined up to $35,000.

According to their criminal complaints, Mount Pleasant and Racine police executed a knock and announce search warrant at 5:22 a.m. Thursday on a home in the 3700 block of Providence Drive in Mount Pleasant. Officers utilized a ram to breach the door to the home after police announced themselves and did not get a response.

Inside the basement of the home, police say they discovered a sophisticated grow operation for a "rotating crop" of marijuana plants using lights on a pulley system and a comprehensive ventilation system. A total of 62 plants of differing sizes and ages were recovered from the basement along with a pH soil tester, starter plugs for seedlings, and a heating pad for keeping younger plants warm.

Throughout the rest of the home, officers recovered a variety of drug paraphernalia, including pipes, bongs, scales, grinders, baggies, and plastic storage bowls will marijuana inside. Police also searched the couple's vehicle and found another pipe, a baggie with marijuana inside, a yellow rag wrapped around a quantity of marijuana and a purple liquor bottle wrapper, the complaint reads.

Both Lennons were apprehended on the second floor of their home and refused to give statements to police without having their attorney present, according to their criminal complaints.

Barbara and James remain in the Racine County Jail on a cash bond each of $2,500. If they post bail, they are ordered to not consume or possess any illegal substances and to submit to random drug testing.

The Lennons will next be in court for their preliminary hearings on Sept. 5.