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Men arrested on drug charges

Marijuana allegedly grown in crawl space of house

Gary E. Salazar

— Three Steamboat Springs men face felony drug charges after a drug task force allegedly seized 100 marijuana plants from their residence Thursday night.

Lorenzo Charles Cannistraci, 38, Bolling Ford Hines, 25, and Eric Charles Edelstein, 37, were arrested at their home after Grant, Routt and Moffat Narcotics Enforcement agents executed a search warrant.

Assisting in the search were Routt County Sheriff’s deputies and Steamboat Springs police officers.

According to court records, authorities allegedly found 100 marijuana plants growing in a crawl space of the residence. Lawmen also allegedly seized 20 marijuana pipes in the search that was conducted about 9:20 p.m., records show.

Cannistraci, Hines and Edelstein each face charges of cultivation and possession of marijuana, which are both class-four felonies. They also face a charge of possession of drug paraphernalia.

Cannistraci and Hines face an additional felony, possession of a controlled substance, a class three felony.

Authorities allegedly found psylocybin mushrooms in the residence, court records show.

During the search, police arrested a fourth man who showed up at the men’s residence.

Ryan Scott Zeller, 23, of Steamboat Springs was arrested after police allegedly found two pills of ecstasy in his wallet, court records show.

Zeller faces a charge of possession of a schedule I substance, a class three felony. Zeller also has an outstanding warrant from Summit County for failing to appear in court on a drug charge, records show.

The four men were booked into the Routt County Jail. On Friday morning, Cannistraci and Hines each posted a $20,000 bond. Edelstein posted a $5,000 bond.

The search was planned after GRAMNET agents received a tip that marijuana plants were being grown in the home, records show.

Before securing a search warrant from Routt County Judge James Garrecht Thursday, agents checked how much electricity was being used by the home, records show.

Agents found out, the home was using double or triple the amount of kilowatts when compared to five neighboring homes, records show.


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