Crime & Safety
Marijuana-Growing Operation Found in Burning House, Police Say
A 27-year-old man allegedly tried to stop firefighters from entering a locked bedroom to extinguish a fire. Here's what they found inside.
Firefighters summoned to a St. Petersburg home Monday to put out an electrical fire allegedly found a marijuana-growing operation in a man's locked bedroom, according to police.
Gaetano Rodriguez, 27, faces charges that include Obstructing Fire Fighters and and Cultivation of Marijuana, according to St. Petersburg police.
According to police, the St. Petersburg Fire Department was summoned to 727 54th Avenue North on Monday, July 30, for an electrical fire inside of the house.
Firefighters arrived to see flames coming from the home. The fire was coming from a locked bedroom and the attic of the home.
But Rodriguez, who rents the home from his father, refused to allow the Fire Department to enter the bedroom, according to a police report.
Firefighters had to "forcibly" remove Rodriguez from the home. Investigators said that when they broke down the bedroom door, they found 75-100 marijuana plants in pots inside of the bedroom, in a "marijuana grow operation."
Rodriguez initially told police officers that he was growing the marijuana for medicinal use, but later admitted he was growing the marijuana to sell, investigators said.
He was transported to the Pinellas County Jail.
Want to read more St. Pete crime news?
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
