An Allen County police officer trying to serve court papers had gone to the house on Sand Point Road twice.
Both times, James E. McClurg answered the door and closed it behind him as he quickly came outside to speak with the officer. Both times, the officer noticed a strong odor of raw marijuana coming from the house, according to an affidavit filed Friday in U.S. District Court.
These observations, authorities said, prompted another Allen County officer to surveil the house on Feb. 2 and 3. While doing so, the same potent odor of raw marijuana struck his nostrils.
The scent, along with other evidence, led investigators to obtain a search warrant, and on Thursday, the county drug task force and SWAT team raided 3830 Sand Point Road, police said.
In the three-bedroom house across from the former Elmhurst High School, officers discovered an elaborate hydroponic marijuana-growing operation with 304 plants worth $500,000, according to authorities.
Police found grow lights, watering systems and plants in various stages of development in the basement and on the first and second floors. They also came across fertilizer, a drying rack and boxes of processed marijuana ready for sale, the affidavit said.
McClurg, 46, who was home when officers came through the door, told police he started his growing operation in August 2008 with 11 plants. He moved the operation to Michigan in early 2009 for about 18 months, but he eventually returned to the Sand Point Road home that he was renting, the affidavit stated.
Until January 2009, he had been raising marijuana for his own use, but after losing his job, he enlarged his operation and started selling the drug to support himself, according to the affidavit.
Each week, McClurg harvested 19 ounces of marijuana and earned $5,000 through sales, he told police. With grow lights each running 12 hours a day, his monthly power bills typically reached $1,300, the affidavit said.
The bust resulted in a federal charge accusing McClurg of manufacturing more than 100 marijuana plants. He was also preliminarily charged in Allen Superior Court with receiving stolen auto parts because police officers found a stolen 2010 Harley-Davidson motorcycle at his home, police said.
He was being held without bail Friday at the Allen County Jail.
