House keys? Check.
Questionable rewiring of the electric? Check.
Hole drilled into the foundation to illegally access underground utilities? Check.
Call it “Extreme Makeover: Marijuana Edition.”
That’s the gist of recorded conversations between men involved in growing and distributing marijuana in the region, according to court documents.
The federal Drug Enforcement Administration led the investigation, which led to a series of arrests in Ansonia and Milford in December 2010. Click here for our original story.
On Tuesday, the Valley Independent Sentinel obtained a previously sealed search and seizure warrant related to the investigation. The document shows agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration used wire taps and GPS tracking to hone in on men who allegedly ran marijuana grow houses in Ansonia and Milford.
One of the suspects, Jose Estevez, 46, a butcher from Nyack, N.Y., allegedly rented a newly-built house at 39 Larovera Terrace in Ansonia.
Police said the house was used exclusively to grow marijuana — as evidenced by the 312 marijuana plants found inside.
Kevin Condon, Estevez’ attorney, said he could not comment on a pending case.
A law enforcement search warrant states that in October 2010 DEA agents working out of Bridgeport received information from their counterparts in New York indicating that Estevez “was involved in a multi-state marijuana cultivation and distribution organization.”
New York DEA agents were building a case against an unnamed “main target,” and had “intercepted” Estevez “on numerous phone conversations with the main target” over the course of a month.
According to the warrant, the topics of the recorded conversations between the “target” and Estevez included:
- What they were planning to do with the interior of the residence
- What to buy at Home Depot — and where to stack the materials in the house
- The fact a hole had been drilled in the house to bypass electrical meters
“The investigation revealed that the organization is comprised of Hispanic males who operate clandestine grow operations out of residential houses in the northeast,” the search warrant states.
A Bridgeport DEA agent then obtained electric-use info from United Illuminating regarding the Larovera house. It showed that from Nov. 3, 2010 until Nov. 17, 2010, the house had used 1,294 kilowatt hours.
That was a decent jump from the previous 36 months, when the previous tenant averaged 728 kilowatt hours every four weeks.
Law enforcement raided the Ansonia house on Dec. 16 and found the aforementioned marijuana plants, along with two 55-gallon drums, 26 1,000 watt “grow lamps,” 26 electronic ballasts, two air conditioners, six extension cords, five power fans and a 500-watt work light, among many other items used to grow marijuana indoors, police said.
Police allege the 1,294 kilowatt hours documented by United Illuminating wasn’t a true representation of how much electricity had been used because much of the equipped had been dangerously mainlined into underground utilities in an effort to avoid detection.
Estevez was initially charged with:
- operating a drug factory
- cultivation of marijuana
- possession of more than 4 ounces of marijuana
- possession of marijuana with intent to sell
- possession of marijuana with intent to sell within 1,500 feet of a daycare
- possession of marijuana within 1,500 feet of a daycare
- possession of drug paraphernalia
Meanwhile, DEA agents tracking Estevez also got turned onto a property at 46 Andover Drive in Milford, where police said they found another grow house.
In that case, a search warrant identified Devin “Gordo” Bautista as an Estevez associate who was in charge of the day-to-day operation of the Milford house.
Authorities used recorded phone conversations between Estevez and an unnamed associate along with United Illuminating information to obtain a search warrant to search the Milford house.
They raided the house Dec. 16 and found 103 marijuana plants — and 68 other items ranging from propane tanks to duct tape, all used to grow marijuana inside the residence.
Bautista and another man allegedly connected to the Milford house, Arlin Caceres, face a slew of drug charges in connection to that case.
All court cases involving the three men are still pending.
Bautista has 12 felonies pending. He’s due in Superior Court in Milford on July 11.
Caceres has 11 felonies pending. He’s due in Superior Court in Milford on July 11.
Esteves made a brief appearance in Superior Court in Derby June 22. His case was continued to July 27.
There is no word as to whether the “main target” mentioned in court documents was ever arrested.
