Police found a marijuana grow operation at a Seymour home Monday while investigating the house as part of a rash burglaries in the Valley.
Seymour police spokesman Lt. Paul Satkowski said officers had originally gone to the home at 57 Great Hill Road in Seymour with a search and seizure warrant for stolen items they expected to find at the house.
Instead, they found about 12 marijuana plants growing in a shed, Satkowski said.
Police charged Joseph Downs, 32, of Seymour, with cultivating marijuana, possession of marijuana and operation of a drug factory.
Satkowski said the shed was ​“an elaborate cultivation of marijuana grow operation.”
Police found about 12 maturing marijuana plants in the shed, which had insulated walls to keep the light and heat in. They also found growing supplies like grow lights, extension cords, timers, fans, fertilizer, two dehumidifiers and a large plastic garbage bag containing numerous plant stalks from previously harvested marijuana plants.
Downs wasn’t the original target of the search, police said.
“Downs is not necessarily a suspect in the burglaries, but acquaintances staying at his house are,” Satkowski said.
Satkowski said Derby, Seymour and Shelton police detectives have been working together in investigating burglaries in all three communities. Police recovered stolen property from the house at Great Hill Road and they expect to arrest the suspects in ​“the very near future.” The recovered items could come from burglaries in the Valley or elsewhere, Satkowski said.
Downs posted $75,000 bond and will appear in Derby Superior Court on Jan. 30.