A New York City man faces charges of possession and cultivation of marijuana, after a fire in a Hamden garage led to the discovery of 42 pot plants on the premises.
The Delaware County Sheriff's Office reports today that 30-year-old Aleksandr Melamedov was arrested on Monday, February 13, the day of the fire. (Raising the question: How long does it take to write a press release over there?)
The release:
On Monday, February 13, 2012 Delaware County Sheriff's Deputies arrested 30 year old Aleksandr Melamedov of New York, NY and charged him with Unlawful Possession of Marihuana and Cultivation of Marihuana by an Unlicensed Person.
On Monday afternoon Delaware County 911 dispatched Delhi Volunteer fire fighters to a structure fire in a garage located on County Highway 2 (Cabin Hill Road) in the Town of Hamden. Responding fire fighters discovered an indoor marihuana growing operation at that location and summoned Deputies to the scene.
A search of the garage led to the seizure of forty two (42) marihuana plants.
The Delaware County Fire Investigation Team determined the cause of the fire to be accidental in nature and was attributed to lighting associated with the marihuana growing operation.
Melamedov was issued appearance tickets and released to answer the charges in the Town of Hamden Court at 5:30pm on February 27, 2012.
