PILOT PATROL PULLS EVIL WEED

Santa Rosa Second In State For Marijuana Eradication

Santa Rosa County long has been considered a paradise for pot
cultivators. But thanks to a deputy with a sharp eye and a small
Cessna, that may not be the case much longer.

Deputy Craig Stalcup flew six days a week throughout the summer and
helped locate and eradicate 2,101 marijuana plants last year. That
number placed the county in the state behind only Miami-Dade County,
according to a report released this month by the Florida Department of
Law Enforcement.

In Escambia County, deputies seized only 63 plants, ranking the county
48th in the state. But with two new helicopters and a recommitment to
the marijuana eradication program, the Sheriff's Office expects to see
those numbers rise this year.

The combined efforts in the two-county area could result in a record
year for pot busts and a tough time for pot growers.

"This is a big area that is mostly rural, so it's kind of like a big
playground for growers," Stalcup said. "With one year of experience -
learning to locate the plants - under my belt and an earlier start
this year, I'm expecting another big summer."

Santa Rosa Sheriff Wendell Hall made the marijuana eradication program
a top priority when he took office last year. He assigned Stalcup, a
licensed pilot, to fly a single-engine Cessna throughout the county
and spot marijuana plots.

The result was a 251 percent increase from the previous
year.

"Because we're so rural, it's been there throughout our history. So
when I took office, I thought that was one of the main laws we really
had to enforce," Hall said. "Come to find out we had a pilot driving
around in a squad car. So we trained him through the FDLE, and we're
happy with what he's accomplished."

Stalcup spent most of the summer flying seven hours a day, six days a
week. He flies the Cessna slow and low - about 65 knots and 500 feet
up - so he can locate the fields and circle lower to make sure it's
marijuana. He then calls in deputies to clear the field.

In Escambia County, deputies are figuring out how to use the two new
helicopters in their search for marijuana. The aircraft will be used
for traffic control and chasing fugitives, but Sgt. Ricky Shelby,
assistant officer in charge of narcotics, said deputies will spend
plenty of time looking for marijuana.

"Before, we had to wait for other agencies to lend us their
equipment," he said. "But now that we have our own air wing, we intend
to see those numbers go way up."

Few areas south of Interstate 10 are wide open enough to hide
marijuana crops, so Shelby said officers' efforts will concentrate on
the more rural north end of the county and selected spots further south.

"I'm not going to get into specifics of where we're going to be
looking," Shelby said. "But they know we've got the helicopters, and
we don't mind them knowing."

Despite their best efforts, finding marijuana is still a hard
task.

Northwest Florida is prime real estate for growing illegal crops. With
thousands of acres of undeveloped land, growers can plant their seeds
and return during harvest with only minimal maintenance - the area's
heat and humidity are perfect for the plant.

Growers also have learned from their mistakes. Before the age of
aerial surveillance, they grew marijuana in large, continuous patches.
They've learned to grow smaller plots or spread them out, making the
plants harder to spot.

Large government tracts, such as Blackwater River State Forest and the
Eglin Air Force Base reservation, provide growing areas with little
chance of identifying the culprits.

That is what deputies in both counties say is the most frustrating
part.

Santa Rosa's only marijuana cultivation arrest last year came when
deputies found a water hose near a plot of marijuana and traced it
back to a house. Most growers are more careful than that.

"The growers are hard to get," Hall said. "It would be nice if we had
the manpower to stake the plot out for many days and nights, but we
don't. We're just pleased we're destroying the plants and making sure
they never reach the streets."