JOHNSON COUNTY, KY.-Kentucky State Police say that a Johnson County man, wanted after being indicted for allegedly cultivating over 200 marijuana plants was found cultivating more marijuana. They say it happened Tuesday evening on US 460 in Staffordsville when they attempted to pull over a vehicle for speeding. That vehicle, being driven by 30 -year old Brandon LeMaster, pulled into a driveway and stopped. The Trooper asked LeMaster for his insurance card and LeMaster told him it was inside his residence with his girlfriend. When the trooper attempted to retrieved the card, he said he could smell a strong odor of marijuana coming from inside the residence and asked LeMaster’s girlfriend if he could search the home she said no, and quickly shut the door. LeMaster eventually gave consent for Troopers to search the home and when they did they found an indoor growing system complete with heat lamps and fans and 36 marijuana plants. Also, inside the home they found $1,250 in cash along with what they say are 85 hydrocodone pills. Kentucky State Police say that despite the rise in other illegal narcotic activity they are still seeing just as much cultivation of marijuana.
“Cultivation, in this area has stayed, to me, pretty much the same as it always has been. Of course, this time of year we have a large amount of indoor grows because the frost is still coming. You’ll start to see it outside here shortly when the temperature rises. There will be also more indoor grows too, sometimes we find them even up in the late summer months. Eastern Kentucky is probably the best area to grow it because of the climate, so its pretty popular thing to do here.”
LeMaster was arrested and charged with cultivating marijuana, trafficking in marijuana, drug paraphernalia, prescription pills not in a proper container and trafficking in a controlled substance. Both LeMaster and his mother 57 -year old Wanda LeMaster were served indictments for allegedly cultivating marijuana which states that back in September of last year they were found growing 203 marijuana plants. Both were lodged in the Big Sandy Regional Detention Center.
