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TRENTON
- Attorney General Paula T. Dow and Criminal
Justice Director Stephen J. Taylor announced
that four Gloucester County residents pleaded
guilty today to growing marijuana plants
in their homes using hydroponic equipment
and grow lights.
The
charges resulted from an investigation by
the New Jersey State Police Marijuana Eradication
Squad. The State Police uncovered sophisticated
indoor marijuana growing operations in three
separate homes: the home of a husband and
wife in Deptford, the home of the wife’s
mother in Woodbury, and the home of a Glassboro
man who is not related to the other defendants.
All three homes were rigged with equipment
from the couple’s hydroponics store
in Deptford.
According
to Director Taylor, Paul J. Trace, 45, and
his wife, Charlotte P. Trace, 48, of Deptford,
pleaded guilty to a first-degree charge
of maintaining or operating a marijuana
production facility before Superior Court
Judge Walter L. Marshall Jr. in Gloucester
County. The couple owned and operated Tasty
Harvest Hydroponics in Deptford. Hydroponics
is the cultivation of plants in water that
contains dissolved nutrients, instead of
in soil.
When
the State Police executed a search warrant
at the couple’s home on First Avenue
on Nov. 20, 2008, they discovered two indoor
growing areas containing high-tech marijuana
cultivation equipment and 33 marijuana plants,
along with a bag containing nearly a pound
of marijuana.
Under
their plea agreements, the state will recommend
that Paul Trace be sentenced to five years
in state prison, including two years of
parole ineligibility, and that Charlotte
Trace be sentenced to five years in prison,
including 21 months of parole ineligibility.
Deputy Attorney General Daniel Bornstein
of the Division of Criminal Justice Gangs
& Organized Crime Bureau took the guilty
pleas from the Traces and the other defendants.
The
mother of Charlotte Trace, Miriam Andrew,
76, of Woodbury, pleaded guilty today to
a second-degree charge of manufacturing
marijuana. The state will recommend that
she be sentenced to a term of probation.
Andrew admitted that she permitted her daughter
to grow marijuana in her home in Woodbury.
The State Police executed a search warrant
at Andrew’s home on Edith Avenue on
the same day that the Traces’ home
was searched. They found 16 marijuana plants
growing in a hydroponic system in a second-floor
bedroom, as well as a bag containing approximately
one-quarter pound of marijuana.
Also
today, Frank J. Harder III, 33, of Glassboro,
pleaded guilty to a first-degree charge
of maintaining or operating a marijuana
production facility. The state will recommend
that he be sentenced to five years in state
prison, including 18 months of parole ineligibility.
Harder
formerly worked at the Traces’ hydroponics
store. Members of the State Police Marijuana
Eradication Squad, assisted by the State
Police Troop A TEAMS Unit, executed a search
warrant on Nov. 20, 2008, at Harder’s
home on North Main Streeet in Glassboro.
They found an elaborate hydroponic cultivation
system with 43 marijuana plants, 20 marijuana
“clones” or cuttings, and bags
containing a total of approximately 2 pounds
of marijuana.
Judge
Marshall scheduled sentencing for the Traces
and Andrew for April 9. He will schedule
sentencing for Harder at a later date.
Attorney
General Dow credited the State Police Marijuana
Eradication Squad for conducting the investigation,
and Deputy Attorney General Bornstein for
prosecuting the case.
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