Jackson County authorities find sophisticated hydroponic marijuana greenhouse

By Deborah Buckhalter

Published: May 28, 2008

Late Wednesday, the Jackson County Drug Task Force dismantled a sophisticated hydroponic marijuana greenhouse being operated in a barn outside the residence of a Malone-area man.

Eulatio Santiago, 29, was charged with the cultivation of marijuana in the case and with other offenses unrelated to the grow operation.

Task Force Commander Joey Rabon said the 13 plants found in the barn were of the highest quality - all sensimillia, female plants that produce marijuana worth $1,800 to $2,000 an ounce. That makes the haul worth about a quarter-million dollars on the street, he estimated.

Rabon said they were the highest-quality plants he’s seen growing here in all his years as a law enforcement officer in Jackson County. 

Each of the potted plants had its own 1,000-watt grow light, watering system and fertilizer dispenser, Rabon said, and each was about five feet tall and five feet in diameter. Rabon said it appears the power was diverted to the barn with the help of small transformers.

Santiago was already in jail on a child abuse charge when the plants were discovered in the barn outside his residence at 5438 Gooseberry Lane, Rabon said.

During the course of an investigation in which Santiago is charged with child abuse, authorities received information that led them to seek a search warrant on suspicion of drug activity at the residence. Santiago would not give a consent to search, but a judge agreed to issue the search warrant, which was executed a couple of hours before nightfall Wednesday.

The plants together weighted upwards of 50 pounds, Rabon estimated, and filled a law enforcement officer’s truck to overflowing.

Santiago, a convicted felon in a cocaine possession case out of Orange County, also had a pistol and a rifle in his home, Rabon said.

The Jackson County Task Force is made up of officers from the Cottondale Police Department, the Graceville Police Department, the Marianna Police Department, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office. The task force was assisted at the scene by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol-Tobacco and Firearms.