Owner of marijuana plants growing in business park gets probation

By Neal Putnam

A former Ramona man whose marijuana cultivation operation was discovered by sheriff’s deputies in a business park was sentenced May 21 to three years probation and credit for four days spent in jail.

Edward Michael Hanson, 31, who now lives in Julian, was fined $654 and ordered to pay probation costs of $1,127, according to court records. No further jail time was ordered by San Diego Superior Court Judge Laura Halgren, and no community service was ordered.

Hanson pleaded guilty April 19 to cultivating marijuana. A charge of possessing marijuana for sale was dismissed. Deputies answered a burglar alarm at 3 a.m. on Dec. 17 at 607 Brazos St. in Ramona where 754 marijuana plants were growing in different sizes in four suites.

The burglar alarm was apparently triggered by a malfunction of the growing operation that included irrigation and heat. Deputies called investigators from the Narcotics Task Force before the plants were seized.

Before three suites were opened, Hanson was contacted and he consented to opening the locked doors to the other suites where more plants were found. He was then arrested.

A prosecutor said that, if Hanson violates terms of his probation, he could be sent to prison. The judge ordered Hanson to pay the fees and costs at a rate of $35 per month.