They were searching for one thing and ended up finding something much bigger.
Two 45-year-old Addison Township men were taken into custody after a marijuana growing operation was discovered May 24 by Oakland and Macomb county sheriff’s officers in the basement of a house in the 1800 block of Moffat.
As a result of this find, Frank Rico Valente and John Anthony Makowski were each charged with delivery/manufacture of marijuana, a four-year felony. They were also charged with possession of marijuana, a misdemeanor.
They were arraigned Saturday in Rochester Hills 52-3 District Court Friday before Magistrate Soma. Bonds were set at $20,000 each, with the option to post 10 percent. Both men posted bond and were released from Oakland County Jail.
Oakland deputies were assisting Macomb investigators as they executed a search warrant for a crime involving a motor vehicle in that neighboring county. The warrant was for the motor vehicle and records.
During the search, officers discovered the marijuana growing operation.
They called in Oakland County’s Narcotics Enforcement Team (NET), which obtained a search warrant for the premises based on the fact there was probable cause given the officers? discovery.
NET officers found 12 marijuana plants along with one pound of marijuana, separately packaged. They also found a heat sealer, five grow lights, chemicals, transformers and a tank of carbon dioxide.
Neither Valente nor Makowski had a state registry card or related paperwork allowing them to grow or possess medical marijuana, according to the Oakland County Sheriff’s Department.