California man arrested for grow house operation

Published 10:30 am Friday, December 7, 2018

JASPER, Fla. — Pulled over for a traffic violation Wednesday afternoon, a California man was arrested when a grow house operation was discovered in the back of his rental truck.

According to the Florida Highway Patrol, a trooper pulled Tony W. Goodwin, a 41-year-old from Greenwood, Calif., for a traffic violation around 4:15 p.m. Wednesday as he was driving a Penske rental truck south on Interstate 75 near mile marker 462.

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When talking with the suspect, the trooper noticed he was extremely nervous, according to the FHP report.

The report states that another trooper arrived with a K-9 officer, Tyson, who alerted for the odor of drugs leading to a search of the truck.

The search revealed a vape pen with marijuana residue and a marijuana pipe in the cab of the truck, according to the report.

During the search of back of the 26-foot box truck, the troopers found an “entire grow house operation,” the report states which included 45 large grow lights, water piping, large grow trays, dehumidifiers and electrical wiring.

The report states that the suspect told troopers he was in the process of moving from California to Florida.

Goodwin was transported to the Hamilton County jail on charges of possession of drug equipment and possession of controlled substance without a prescription.