Police said an automobile accident investigation led them to a marijuana growing operation set up in an east Cobb County home early Wednesday.
The wooded property where the alleged grow house was discovered backs up to the athletic fields at nearby Pope High School.
Cobb police spokesman Mike Bowman said officers were sent to investigate a wreck on Hembree Road just before 1 a.m. “and the driver of the wrecked vehicle fled on foot from the area.”
Those officers called in a K-9 unit to track the driver who had fled the scene.
As K-9 Officer Diesel and his handler, Officer M. Blakeney searched a nearby wooded area, “they smelled a very strong odor of marijuana,” Bowman said. “They investigated a little further and saw that there was a house that had multiple air conditioner units on the back of the house.”
The house, in the 2900 block of Hembree Road, had foam insulation sprayed around the windows “like to seal the odor in,” Bowman said.
When officers knocked on the door, a man answered but refused to talk with them, saying he wanted to talk to his attorney, Bowman said.
“Because of the strong odor of marijuana that they smelled, they secured the residence, they put two into custody and secured a search warrant for the house,” Bowman said.
When officers entered the house, they found 194 marijuana plants growing inside, he said.
Police arrested Sheldon Mitchell, 37, and Rebba Tiller, 23. Mitchell was charged with manufacturing marijuana and manufacturing marijuana within 1,000 feet of a school, while Tiller was charged with multiple counts of violation of Georgia's controlled substance act.
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