MARIJUANA GROWER GETS 3 YEARS

INDIAN RIVER COUNTY -- One of four area men charged in November with
growing and selling marijuana at a Vero Lakes Estates house has been
sentenced to three years in prison.

Jose Gomez, 34, of Melbourne Beach, also must pay a mandatory fine of
$25,000 to Indian River County's Multi-Agency Crime Enforcement Unit,
which uncovered the hydroponic growhouse based on an anonymous tip
received in October.

Gomez's co-defendants -- Edward Paul Holmes, 37, of Vero Beach, Sidney
Leon Oliver III, 36, of Sebastian, and Michael Anthony Daniels, 37, of
Palm Bay -- have not reached plea agreements with the state and are
scheduled for pretrial conferences Aug. 18 before Judge Cynthia L.
Cox, according to court records.

In exchange for Gomez's plea, the state agreed to recommend the three-
year prison term.

When detectives searched the growhouse at 8866 96th Court, they found
one of the largest supplies of marijuana ever seized in the county,
according to earlier reports.

A hydroponic growhouse cultivates marijuana without the use of soil.
To simulate regular sunlight, the men allegedly rigged nine 1,000-watt
bulbs and built a sophisticated irrigation system to grow the plants
in the home's master bedroom, the reports stated.

Cox also placed Gomez on probation for two years after his release or
until he finished drug rehabilitation, whichever comes first. His
driver's license was revoked for two years.