A Polk County volunteer youth soccer coach faces a string of charges after police found a massive marijuana growing operation in his Winter Haven rental home, WFLA reports.
Micah Crane, 36, who coaches for the Auburndale Scream soccer club, was arrested Thursday after police received an anonymous tip. They found an illegal power tap circumventing the power meter as well as 33 pounds of processed pot, more than 300 plants and at least 100 plastic bags of cannabis inside the house. According to FOX 13 News, detectives say the haul could be worth $1.6 million.
Crane's name was on tax information, a cable TV account and utility bills at the residence, and police allege he had stolen an estimated $4,600 in electricity over a 90-day period, The Lakeland Ledger reported.
"He totally fooled us, because we thought he lived there. He had a dog that was there. He would wash his car out in the driveway. He even put candy out for the kids at Halloween and decorated at Christmas time," a neighbor told WFLA.
A spokesman for the Auburndale Scream says Crane has been "suspended pending due legal process," according to FOX 13. The club said it had run a criminal background check on Crane - which came up clean - when he took the coaching job.
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