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Charges still waiting in drug case

— The District Attorney’s Office has yet to file charges against a man arrested last month in connection with a major marijuana growth and distribution operation discovered south of Steamboat Springs.

The defendant was arrested Sept. 13 on suspicion of possession of marijuana, sale of an illegal substance and possession of a deadly weapon. He was released from the Routt County Jail the following day on $20,000 bond.

The case was continued Wednesday in Routt County Court, because of the ongoing investigation.

Charges are expected to be filed before the defendant’s next court appearance. He is due to appear in Routt County Court at 9 a.m. Oct. 29.

In the absence of charges and any discovery material, defense attorney Kris Hammond said he was unable to comment on the case Wednesday.

The operation was discovered in the 21800 block of Routt County Road 41A, in the Hilton Gulch area south of Steamboat Springs, after a deputy received a tip from the property owner Sept. 12. In addition to the growth operation in three rooms above a two-car garage on the property, a search also turned up bags of marijuana ready for sale and a loaded weapon.

Investigators found plants as tall as 3 feet actively growing at the facility, as well as 23 immature plants, 23 drying strands of marijuana and dozens of discarded plants that already had been harvested.

It took a 26-foot-long U-Haul to cart all the evidence away from the Hilton Gulch property, which has been characterized as the largest growth operation uncovered in Routt County in more than a decade.


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