| Probable cause affidavit: |
SUBMITTED BY: MCLAUGHLIN-PERRY, ALLISON 0507 (AR14-11780) (14-118590) DID UNLAWFULLY CULTIVATE WITH INTENT TO SELL, MANUFACTURE OR DELIVER OR CAUSE TO BE SOLD, MANUFACTURED OR DELIVERED TO ANOTHER PERSON, A CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE, TO WIT: MARIJUANA, IN VIOLATION OF FLORIDA STATE STATUTE 893.13(1)(A)(2). DID WILLFULLY ALTER OR TAMPER WITH OR INJURE, OR KNOWINGLY SUFFER TO BE INJURED ANY METER, METER SHIELD, PIPE, CONDUIT, WIRE LINE, CABLE, TRANSFORMER, AMPLIFIER OR OTHER APPARATUS OR DEVICE BELONGING TO A UTILITY LINE SERVICE, IN SUCH A MANNER SUCH TO CAUSE LOSS OR DAMAGE OR TO PREVENT ANY METER INSTALLED FOR REGISTRY, ELECTRIC, GAS OR WATER FROM REGISTERING THE QUANTITY WHICH OTHERWISE WOULD PASS THROUGH THE SAME; TO ALTER THE INDEX OR BREAK THE SEAL OF ANY SUCH METER, IS IN VIOLATION OF FLORIDA STATE STATUTE 812.14(2)(A) ON AUGUST 28, 2014 THE CITRUS COUNTY SHERIFFâS OFFICE TACTICAL IMPACT UNIT EXECUTED A SEARCH WARRANT AT 7699 N MALTESE DRIVE IN CITRUS SPRINGS, CITRUS COUNTY FLORIDA. THE SEARCH WARRANT WAS PREVIOUSLY OBTAINED BY THIS DEPUTY AND SIGNED BY THE HONORABLE JUDGE THOMAS. ON AUGUST 28, 2014 CITRUS COUNTY SHERIFFâS OFFICE TACTICAL IMPACT UNIT MEMBERS ACCOMPANIED REPRESENTATIVES FROM WITHLACOOCHEE ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE TO 7699 N MALTESE DRIVE IN REFERENCE TO A POSSIBLE THEFT OF UTILITIES. TACTICAL IMPACT UNIT MEMBERS (DEPUTY LUDLOW AND DEPUTY PERRY) WALKED WITH WREC REPRESENTATIVES TO THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE RESIDENCE WHERE THE ELECTRIC METER IS LOCATED. WITHLACOOCHEE REPRESENTATIVES THEN CONDUCTED AN AMPERAGE READING AT THE ELECTRIC METER AND DETERMINED A THEFT OF UTILITIES WAS OCCURRING. DURING THIS TIME DEPUTY LUDLOW AND I COULD SMELL THE ODOR OF CANNABIS COMING FROM THE RESIDENCE IN ADDITION TO THE METER BOX AFTER IT WAS OPENED. DEPUTY RODRIGUEZ WAS ON SCENE ASSISTING WITH THIS INVESTIGATION IN ANTICIPATION OF THE RESIDENTS POSSIBLY SPEAKING SPANISH. AT THIS TIME DEPUTY RODRIGUEZ KNOCKED ON THE FRONT DOOR IN AN ATTEMPT TO MAKE CONTACT WITH THE HOMEOWNER. DEPUTY RODRIGUEZ KNOCKED SEVERAL TIMES AND ANNOUNCED VERBALLY IN ENGLISH AND SPANISH âSHERIFFâS OFFICEâ BUT STILL DID NOT GET A RESPONSE. SGT BLAIR WHO WAS ALSO ON SCENE ASSISTING WITH THIS INVESTIGATION HEARD MOVEMENT INSIDE THE RESIDENCE AND IT APPEARED THERE WERE OCCUPANT/ OCCUPANTS INSIDE AND IGNORING THE KNOCKING AT THE DOOR, THEREFORE THE OUTSIDE OF THE RESIDENCE WAS SECURED IN ANTICIPATION OF A SEARCH WARRANT. I THEN LEFT THIS LOCATION AND PROCEEDED TO THE SHERIFFâS OFFICE EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER TO PREPARE A SEARCH WARRANT FOR THE RESIDENCE. DURING THIS TIME A CALL WAS RECEIVED FROM SGT BLAIR WHO REMAINED ON SCENE AND HE ADVISED THE RESIDENTS LATER IDENTIFIED AS DEFENDANTS JANIEL LAZALA AND ODISA SOTO HAD EVENTUALLY ANSWERED THE DOOR AND WERE BEING COOPERATIVE. UPON THE SEARCH WARRANT BEING SIGNED DEPUTY LUDLOW AND I RETURNED TO THE SCENE AND MADE CONTACT WITH DEFENDANTâS LAZALA AND SOTO. (THE RESIDENCE WAS ALREADY DEEMED SAFE AND SECURE) I READ THE SEARCH WARRANT ALOUD TO LAZALA AND SOTO. DEPUTY RODRIGUEZ READ MIRANDA VIA A PRE PRINTED DOCUMENT TO BOTH LAZALA AND SOTO. LAZALA AND SOTO ACKNOWLEDGED THEY UNDERSTOOD THEIR RIGHTS. LAZALA WAS FLUENT IN ENGLISH; HOWEVER SOTO ONLY SPOKE SPANISH THEREFORE THE SEARCH WARRANT WAS EXPLAINED TO SOTO BY DEPUTY RODRIGUEZ. A BRIEF WALK THROUGH WAS DONE OF THE RESIDENCE AND A FULL CANNABIS GROW OPERATION WAS LOCATED IN THE GARAGE AND ALSO IN A DETACHED OUTBUILDING BEHIND THE RESIDENCE. THE CANNABIS GROW OPERATION CONTAINED FLUORESCENT LIGHTING, FANS, FILTERS, AIR CONDITIONERS, A WATER SOURCE AND FERTILIZERS. THE CANNABIS GROW OPERATION INSIDE THE GARAGE YIELDED 28 CANNABIS PLANTS AND 60 CANNABIS PLANTS INSIDE THE OUTBUILDING. AT THIS TIME TACTICAL IMPACT UNIT MEMBERS BEGAN THEIR SEARCH ASSIGNMENTS. DEPUTY POLLARD AND DEPUTY SMITH WERE ASSIGNED TO SEARCH THE MASTER BEDROOM WILL BE REFERRED TO AS BEDROOM #1. UPON SEARCHING DEPUTY SMITH LOCATED AN UNDISCLOSED AMOUNT OF CURRENCY IN A BACKPACK WHICH ALSO CONTAINED TWO MASON JARS WITH APPROXIMATELY 61 GRAMS OF CANNABIS. AS DEPUTY SMITH CONTINUED SEARCHING HE ALSO LOCATED A CALENDAR WHICH CONTAINED WATER AND FERTILIZING SCHEDULE. ALSO LOCATED INSIDE BEDROOM#1 WAS A BRIGHT HOUSE BILL WHICH CONTAINED LAZALAâS NAME AND A CHECKBOOK WHICH CONTAINED SOTOâS NAME. BEDROOM #2 WAS BEING SEARCHED BY DEPUTY SLINGERLAND AND AGENT LYNCH (FDLE) WHO LOCATED OLD ITEMS THAT WERE ASSOCIATED WITH THE SET UP OF A CANNABIS GROW OPERATION. DEPUTY LUDLOW WAS SEARCHING BEDROOM # 3 AND DURING THE SEARCH LOCATED TWO LARGE SCREENS WHICH ARE UTILIZED FOR DRYING THE CANNABIS. IN ADDITION DEPUTY LUDLOW LOCATED SEVERAL SMALL MASON JARS WHICH CONTAINED CANNABIS TOTALING APPROXIMATELY 17 OUNCES. DEPUTY LUDLOW ALSO LOCATED SCALES AND A GRINDER IN THIS ROOM. POST MIRANDA DEFENDANT LAZALA ADMITTED TO THE CANNABIS GROW OPERATION AND INDICATED THAT HE HAS BEEN GROWING SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR. DEFENDANT LAZALA INDICATED THAT HE WAS GOING TO USE THE MONEY TO START A BUSINESS AND ALLUDED TO THE FACT THIS WAS A ONETIME THING TO GET A HEAD START ON ANOTHER BUSINESS. DEFENDANT LAZALA INFORMED ME THAT THE CANNABIS GROW OPERATION TAKES A LOT OF TIME AND MADE INDICATIONS THAT THE GROW NEEDED ATTENTION ALL THE TIME. DEFENDANT LAZALA STATED THAT EITHER HE OR DEFENDANT SOTO WOULD WATCH THE GROW. DEFENDANT LAZALA INDICATED THAT HE HAD ASSISTANCE WITH THE SET UP OF THE GROW (ELECTRIC) BUT LEARNED A LOT OF THE GROWING TECHNIQUES ON HIS OWN AND THE INTERNET. DEPUTY LUDLOW SHOWED DEFENDANT LAZALA THE MASON JARS WHICH WERE LOCATED IN BEDROOM #3 AND TITLED âKâ AND âSDâ. DEFENDANT LAZALA STATED THE âKâ STANDS FOR KUSH AND THE âSDâ STANDS FOR SOUR DIESEL. POST MIRANDA DEFENDANT SOTO MADE NO STATEMENTS REGARDING THIS INVESTIGATION. AT ONE POINT DURING THIS INVESTIGATION DEFENDANT SOTO OBSERVED THIS DEPUTY HOLDING SCISSORS AND SHE ASKED ME IF I WAS CLIPPING THE PLANTS. ALL PERTINENT ITEMS WERE COLLECTED AND SUBMITTED INTO EVIDENCE. THE CANNABIS GROWING IN THE GARAGE AND OUTBUILDING (SHED) TOTALED 94 POUNDS. THE ITEMS ASSOCIATED WITH GROW WERE DESTROYED ON SCENE PER FSS. THE ELECTRICAL DIVERSION THAT WAS SUBSEQUENTLY DISCOVERED BY WREC REPRESENTATIVES WAS REMOVED AND THE ELECTRICITY TO THE RESIDENCE WAS DISCONNECTED. DEFENDANTS LAZALA AND SOTO WERE PLACED UNDER ARREST AND TRANSPORTED BY DEPUTY RODRIGUEZ TO THE CITRUS COUNTY JAIL. TYPED BY ALLISON MCLAUGHLIN-PERRY |
