Caller Leads Sheriff To 5 More Pot Grow Houses

9 SUSPECTS ARRESTED

By BILL RETTEW JR.

SEBRING — A 911 phone caller reported gun shots from inside a Lake Josephine Drive grow house for cultivating marijuana, which led the Highlands County Sheriff’s Office to five other similar sites county wide.

Nine suspects were arrested and charged with cultivation and trafficking in cannabis at grow houses located from Lake Josephine to Venus, according to a sheriff’s office press release.

The hybrid plants can bring as much as $4,000 each. Some houses had as few as 50 and others as many as 250 plants, the release said.

The large scale busts and marijuana find started at 2611 Lake Josephine Drive when someone inside the home made the 911 call reporting fired shots.

Sheriff’s deputies responded and discovered what was then the first of six separate sites where marijuana was cultivated on Friday and Saturday.

Other grow houses were located at: 2210 Lake Josephine Drive, Sebring; 147 Williams Road, Lake Placid; 200 McMahon Lane, Lake Placid; 320 Guymon Ave., Lake Placid; and 72 Quail Run, Venus.

The report named the primary suspect as Ernesto Estepa, 40, of 5225 N.W. Fourth St., Miami.

Deputy Monica Griffith saw what was identified as the suspect’s vehicle just after 5 a.m. on Friday.

Estepa was arrested for attempted home invasion, shooting into or throwing deadly missiles into an occupied dwelling and other traffic related offenses. He is in the Highlands County jail with no bond, according the sheriff’s office.

“This is an organized crime operation and we need to help our community to identify suspicious persons and activities within our neighborhoods,” said Sheriff Susan Benton, read the report. “These high dollar crimes tend to bring out violence.”

Last month Benton predicted that there were more grow houses discovered in Highlands County on the heels of the county’s biggest bust ever in November.

“These criminals are coming in and buying houses that look at home in the neighborhood, doing major internal renovations, installing elaborate air conditioning units, generators, and lighting, and then doing business as usual in our neighborhoods.” Benton asked neighbors to be aware of move-ins who install dual air conditioners, or hook up illegally to utilities. “One house used $5,000 in water a month for three months,” she said.
Sheriff’s Capt. Randy LaBelle said there are still likely still more grow houses in Highlands County.

“We can’t even begin to guess how many,” said LaBelle.

He said the marijuana confiscated Friday and Saturday would have probably been shipped north and up the eastern seaboard.

“It’s significant here for the residents because we took the bad guys off the streets, but not significant nationwide,” said LaBelle.

The following suspects were arrested for cultivation and trafficking of cannabis:

u At 2611 Lake Josephine Drive, Sebring: Livan Hernandez, Hialeah; Rolando Castillo, of the same address; Ketty Burgos, Hialeah.

u At 2210 Lake Josephine Drive, Sebring: Jose Pinero, Farm Road, Sebring.

u At 147 Williams Road, Lake Placid, Jose Vargas, no address given.

u At 200 McMahon Lane, Lake Placid, Pedro Ramirez Herrera, Melrose Road, Lake Placid.

u At 320 Guymon Ave., Lake Placid: Orlando Menes, Miami Beach.

u 72 Quail Run, Venus: Karell Yirizar Garcia, of the same address.

Highlands Today reporter Gary Pinnell contributed to this story.