PLACER POT SQUAD BUSTS SAC GROWER

The Placer County Marijuana Eradication team arrested Sacramento
resident Joshua J. Thuss, 28, on charges of suspicion of cultivation
and sales of the drug.

The team served a search warrant at Thuss' residence Thursday and
found a sophisticated grow operation set up in a spare bedroom, said
Sgt. Keven Besana. Along with the equipment, the team seized 49
plants, in flowering and nursery stages, scales and packing materials.

Thuss was taken into custody without incident and booked into the
Sacramento County jail.

However, Besana said he found himself answering questions Thursday as
to why the Placer County team was working in another
jurisdiction.

"We develop leads and those leads may take us out of Placer County,"
he said. "We work under the authorization of a federal task force.
Marijuana has no boundaries, and a lot of the dope in northern
Sacramento comes into Placer County."

According to Besana, marijuana is the number one narcotic found among
elementary school children - primarily fourth-, fifth- and
sixth-graders. "A playground is not the place for drugs. We have to
take it off the streets, and we have an aggressive team to do that,"
Besana said.

Thuss was released from jail Thursday.

Calls to his residence were not returned.

Besana said he would be prosecuted in Sacramento County.