smokinrav
Well-Known Member
I really haven't seen the numbers broken down by LEA before, especially the neighbor comparison. The power use here was vastly higher than neighbors were using. This is the most important thing...
The power company didn't care about the discrepency until LEA asked them.
Bottom line, pay your bill, control your emissions, and tell no one, and you'll be as safe as you can be.
Finally, how much of a grow could you hide in a $174 monthly power bill? I could easily run a 1000 watt perpetual harvest and not crack $150.
======================================================
HARTFORD —
A Northwest Catholic High School teacher's home raided June 12 may have been
part of a wider network of marijuana growing houses, according to a search
warrant released late Monday at Superior Court in Hartford.
Christopher and Kristine Gallagher were arraigned Monday on a host of
marijuana cultivation and possession charges and ordered back to court July 2.
Christopher Gallagher, 40, an English teacher and lacrosse coach for eight years
at the West
Hartford school, is free on $150,000 bail. His wife, Kristine Gallagher, 44,
was released without having to post bail.
An informant told a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent that he had
been approached about living in a house that would be used for growing
marijuana. The man who approached the informant, according to the warrant, said
the Gallaghers' home contained one of his growing operations and that Gallagher owed him money.
Acting on that tip, Bloomfield police began an investigation and checked,
among other things, energy consumption for the Gallaghers' home at 17 Sunset
Lane and for several of their neighbors' homes.
While neighboring homes had bills ranging from $40 to $174 a month, the
Gallaghers had bills that ranged from $302 to $634. Police said homes with
growing operations typically have higher electric bills because of the lights
used to grow the plants.
Police and a DEA agent went to the Gallaghers' house about 5:50 a.m. June 12
and reported that they could smell marijuana in the home. Officers knocked on
the door and Christopher Gallagher answered.
DEA Agent Brent Buckles told Gallagher they were there for the "weed grow."
Gallagher acted oblivious for a moment, then responded, "well obviously,"
according to the search warrant affidavit. "Christopher Gallagher then expressed
concern about his employer finding out," according to the affidavit.
Police called to Kristine Gallagher to come out, but they said she was slow
to respond. Officers went into the house because, according to affidavit, they
"believed Kristine maybe accessing a weapon or destroying evidence within the
residence." Before they could get far, Kristine Gallagher appeared at the door
and escorted the officers around the house, according to the affidavit.
After that initial contact with the Gallaghers, Bloomfield police obtained a
search warrant for the house. They reported finding $2,200 in cash, 119
suspected marijuana plants that weighed 12 1/4 pounds, scales, growing lights,
fertilizers, cultivation materials, three guns, a white powder/rock substance in
a bag, and drug paraphernalia.
The warrant also says the Gallaghers have five pit bull terriers in their
home, but Hartford attorney William Gerace said police exaggerated.
"They had two American bulldogs and three puppies," said Gerace, who is
representing Christopher Gallagher. "They juiced it up a little bit," he said of
the search warrant.
Hartford attorney Gerald Klein, who is representing Kristine Gallagher, said
the case against his client is weak and at Monday's arraignment of the couple he
filed a motion to dismiss the charges against her for lack of evidence.
Gerace said Monday that Gallagher and his wife have taken an unfair beating
in the media.
"They didn't find any dead bodies in the house," he said. "People have blown
this out of proportion."
Gallagher "is a good guy" and neither he nor his wife have records, Gerace
said.
"They've got a witch hunt on for these people," he said. "It's kind of
unfair. There's no allegation it has anything to do with the school. It's
marijuana."
Christopher Gallagher is on "indefinite administrative leave," Principal
Margaret R. Williamson said last week.
Klein said Kristine Gallagher was arrested without a warrant and there's no
indication she was a target.
"I don't see any evidence that links her to a crime," Klein said. She is only
peripherally mentioned in paperwork related to the case, he said.
The state needs to prove she conspired with or aided and abetted her husband,
Klein said. "There's no duty to turn someone in," he said.
Both are charged with conspiracy to sell a controlled substance, conspiracy
to operate a drug factory, conspiracy to sell illegal drugs, and other
charges.
The power company didn't care about the discrepency until LEA asked them.
Bottom line, pay your bill, control your emissions, and tell no one, and you'll be as safe as you can be.
Finally, how much of a grow could you hide in a $174 monthly power bill? I could easily run a 1000 watt perpetual harvest and not crack $150.
======================================================
HARTFORD —
A Northwest Catholic High School teacher's home raided June 12 may have been
part of a wider network of marijuana growing houses, according to a search
warrant released late Monday at Superior Court in Hartford.
Christopher and Kristine Gallagher were arraigned Monday on a host of
marijuana cultivation and possession charges and ordered back to court July 2.
Christopher Gallagher, 40, an English teacher and lacrosse coach for eight years
at the West
Hartford school, is free on $150,000 bail. His wife, Kristine Gallagher, 44,
was released without having to post bail.
An informant told a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent that he had
been approached about living in a house that would be used for growing
marijuana. The man who approached the informant, according to the warrant, said
the Gallaghers' home contained one of his growing operations and that Gallagher owed him money.
Acting on that tip, Bloomfield police began an investigation and checked,
among other things, energy consumption for the Gallaghers' home at 17 Sunset
Lane and for several of their neighbors' homes.
While neighboring homes had bills ranging from $40 to $174 a month, the
Gallaghers had bills that ranged from $302 to $634. Police said homes with
growing operations typically have higher electric bills because of the lights
used to grow the plants.
Police and a DEA agent went to the Gallaghers' house about 5:50 a.m. June 12
and reported that they could smell marijuana in the home. Officers knocked on
the door and Christopher Gallagher answered.
DEA Agent Brent Buckles told Gallagher they were there for the "weed grow."
Gallagher acted oblivious for a moment, then responded, "well obviously,"
according to the search warrant affidavit. "Christopher Gallagher then expressed
concern about his employer finding out," according to the affidavit.
Police called to Kristine Gallagher to come out, but they said she was slow
to respond. Officers went into the house because, according to affidavit, they
"believed Kristine maybe accessing a weapon or destroying evidence within the
residence." Before they could get far, Kristine Gallagher appeared at the door
and escorted the officers around the house, according to the affidavit.
After that initial contact with the Gallaghers, Bloomfield police obtained a
search warrant for the house. They reported finding $2,200 in cash, 119
suspected marijuana plants that weighed 12 1/4 pounds, scales, growing lights,
fertilizers, cultivation materials, three guns, a white powder/rock substance in
a bag, and drug paraphernalia.
The warrant also says the Gallaghers have five pit bull terriers in their
home, but Hartford attorney William Gerace said police exaggerated.
"They had two American bulldogs and three puppies," said Gerace, who is
representing Christopher Gallagher. "They juiced it up a little bit," he said of
the search warrant.
Hartford attorney Gerald Klein, who is representing Kristine Gallagher, said
the case against his client is weak and at Monday's arraignment of the couple he
filed a motion to dismiss the charges against her for lack of evidence.
Gerace said Monday that Gallagher and his wife have taken an unfair beating
in the media.
"They didn't find any dead bodies in the house," he said. "People have blown
this out of proportion."
Gallagher "is a good guy" and neither he nor his wife have records, Gerace
said.
"They've got a witch hunt on for these people," he said. "It's kind of
unfair. There's no allegation it has anything to do with the school. It's
marijuana."
Christopher Gallagher is on "indefinite administrative leave," Principal
Margaret R. Williamson said last week.
Klein said Kristine Gallagher was arrested without a warrant and there's no
indication she was a target.
"I don't see any evidence that links her to a crime," Klein said. She is only
peripherally mentioned in paperwork related to the case, he said.
The state needs to prove she conspired with or aided and abetted her husband,
Klein said. "There's no duty to turn someone in," he said.
Both are charged with conspiracy to sell a controlled substance, conspiracy
to operate a drug factory, conspiracy to sell illegal drugs, and other
charges.
