RAID UNCOVERS MARIJUANA FARM

Drugs Worth $20,000 Seized

BINGHAMTON Broome County Sheriff's Office drug detectives got more than
they bargained for during a late-night raid of an East Side Binghamton home
Tuesday.

Detectives said they were surprised to find what they described as an
elaborate and sophisticated indoor marijuana farm on the second floor of
the single-family home.

The indoor greenhouse, complete with grow lights and watering system, was
found behind a deadbolt-locked door, police said.

Inside, detectives found 40 mature marijuana plants, said Special
Investigations Unit Det. Sgt. Patrick A. Isenburg.

Detectives said they confiscated 15 pounds of high-grade marijuana, with an
estimated street value of $20,000; $850 in cash; a loaded 12-gauge shotgun
and a car when they raided the home of Patrick H. Connor, 27, of 154 Bevier St.

"It was really something. I was quite impressed," Isenburg said of the grow
room and the mature plants. Some of the plants stood 5 feet high, he said.

Detectives said they also found 2 ounces of hallucinogenic mushrooms kept
in a locked freezer.

Isenburg said the 15 pounds of confiscated marijuana appeared to be a
combination of the harvested locally grown plants and other marijuana.

Connor was charged with first-degree criminal possession of marijuana and
second-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, both felonies,
and unlawful cultivation of cannabis, a misdemeanor.

Connor was held in the Binghamton police lockup Tuesday night, and
arraigned in Binghamton City Court on Wednesday. He was ordered held
without bail in the Broome County jail, where he remained Wednesday night.

Police said Tuesday's raid ended a month long investigation into marijuana
sales reported at Connor's home. Isenburg said detectives continue their
investigation.