4 Charged in Hidden Marijuana Grow Operation

Authorities in Cartersville say they’ve arrested four people on drug and weapons charges after finding 3,500 marijuana plants growing inside a home.

The Bartow County Sheriff’s Department says agents ended a year-long investigation on June 3, when they found the grow operation at a home on Woodland Way in Cartersville. They say it contained 3,500 marijuana plants, which were growing in a hidden room inside the home.

Police arrested Ricky Paul Holt, 53; Elaine Black Holt, 49; Kayla Renee Black, 19; and Christopher Dale Black, 22. All four suspects were charged with manufacturing marijuana, trafficking methamphetamine, felony possession of marijuana, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a VGCSA felony. Ricky Paul Holt was also charged with first-degree forgery.

The four remain in jail pending bond hearings.

During the course of the investigation, agents leaed that the suspects were possibly involved in the purchase and distribution of trafficking amounts of methamphetamine as well.

Investigators say they found elaborate hidden compartments in the house, as well as a room that was concealed by a false wall.

Authorities are still in the process of accessing the value of the growing operation, but they believe it to be at least $350,000. They say it’s capable of producing millions of dollars worth of high-grade hydroponic marijuana.

Investigators said the amount of equipment discovered at the home was overwhelming, and they needed a tractor and trailer to remove it. They also recovered a trafficking amount of methamphetamine, several vehicles, weapons and cash.

The investigation is ongoing, and more arrests are expected in the future, authorities say.