Crime & Safety
Stow Man Charged for $40,000 Having Marijuana Greenhouse Inside Home
Stow Police collected 88 marijuana plants from a Graham Road home in May and recently charged the owner with two felonies.
Stow Police arrested Paul Persa of Graham Road Wednesday and charged him with two felonies after police found in his home in May.
It was one of the larger grows Detective Tom Gottas, of the Stow Narcotics Divison, said he has seen. The plants were not fully grown, but valued around $40,000 total.
Persa, 28, was charged with illegal cultivation of marijuana, a second-degree felony, and possession of marijuana, a third-degree felony. He was arraigned in front of Judge Kim Hoover.
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The police department will receive a court order to destruct the marijuana in an incinerator.
On May 3, Gottas and the Summit County Drug Unit went to Persa's home at 2015 Graham Rd. and could smell the marijuana when the door was opened, he said.
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The department received an about the plants.
"The operation was quite involved, with sophisticated grow equipment," he said.
Persa is now awaiting another court appearance.
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