OFFICERS: DRUG HIDEAWAY FOUND

TAMPA - Trying to conceal more than 100 marijuana plants, James Stull dug a
tunnel and an underground room beneath a bedroom floor, the Hillsborough
County Sheriff's Office alleged Tuesday.

But the hidden space, estimated at 6 feet deep and 15 feet wide, was
uncovered when sheriff's officers raided the house at 7403 34th Ave. S. on
Monday night, the sheriff's office said. Authorities said Stull, 37, of
11715 Rose Lane, Riverview, used the Tampa house as his base of operation.

The plants were grown hydroponically - in water without the use of soil -
which produces a more potent and more expensive variety, Lt. Rod Reder, a
sheriff's office spokesman, said.

Also Monday, the sheriff's office arrested an acquaintance of Stull, Mark
Pearce, 36, and confiscated more than 600 hydroponically grown plants from
his Balm home at 14837 McGrady Road, authorities said. Sheriff's narcotics
officers seized more than 800 marijuana plants with an estimated street
value of $400,000.

Sheriff's Lt. Paul Davis said Stull made a 2 1/2-foot square hole in the
Tampa bedroom floor and then dug 6 feet deep. He installed a ladder and
added lights, water and air conditioning to cultivate the marijuana,
according to Davis.

"It was unusual, but I wasn't shocked," Davis said. "Some of these growers
take elaborate measures."

Stull and Pearce were charged with cultivation and trafficking in marijuana.

Reder said hydroponic marijuana can cost $2,000 to $4,000 a pound, while
other varieties can cost $650 to $800 a pound.