BAD DAY GETS WORSE FOR ALLEGED TRAFFICKER

He got into a brawl with robbers wielding a fake handgun and held one
there until police arrived. Then his troubles really began.

When a robbery victim and his friends called police Tuesday night for
help, officers investigating the home invasion found an alleged
marijuana grow operation in one of his bedrooms.

"While the officers were there, they noticed one of the closets in
the home had some extremely bright light coming from it," said Staff
Sgt. Ed McNorton. "When they looked into it, they had about 40 very
young marijuana plants growing there."

Police had responded to a call about a fight at a home in the 1500
block of Lillian Avenue. McNorton said four people were in the house
watching TV when two men, one with a gun, snuck in through an
unlocked back door. The gun turned out to be an imitation revolver.

"One of them was brandishing this imitation handgun," said McNorton.
"The guy with the handgun went over to one of the people sitting
down, hit him in the face with the gun and started to search him."

McNorton said the victim wasn't badly hurt, but the attack didn't sit
well with his friends. After that, everybody jumped into the fray.

"The others just attacked him and managed to disarm him," said McNorton.

"They put up a fight with him and overpowered him."

They managed to hang onto the second robber, but in the melee, the
man who had been carrying the gun got away.

"He managed to escape their grasp and we're still looking for him,"
said McNorton.

The gun may have been a fake, he said, but that doesn't change how
police treat the crime.

"You don't know that when you're confronted with it," said McNorton.
"It's treated the same as a firearm for the purpose of the offence.

"Some of the imitations that are out there today, you can't tell the
difference. They look like the real McCoy."

One of the people in the house called police, but McNorton said he
didn't know which one. While officers were investigating the robbery,
they came across the robbery victim's marijuana plants. They seized 40.

McNorton didn't know for sure if the house was targeted because of the drugs.

"We don't really know why they were selected as victims, and they
didn't shed any light on that subject," said McNorton. "Obviously,
they selected that house. So there must be some knowledge of what's going on."

Arthur Holland, 18, of Windsor, is charged with robbery with an
imitation firearm. Ryan Herold, 25, is charged with possession of a
substance for the purpose of trafficking.