91 pounds of pot, 658 plants found in South Tahoe

By Kathryn Reed

Between two storage sheds, a house and a vehicle in South Lake Tahoe 91 pounds of pot and 658 marijuana plants were confiscated.

The bust started when a California Highway Patrol officer pulled John Morrissey, 29, of South Lake Tahoe over for reportedly going 50mph on Highway 50. He was arrested on charges of transporting 6.5 pounds of processed marijuana.

This led to a search warrant being executed May 19 by South Lake El Dorado Narcotics Enforcement Team officers at two storage units at 2140 Emerald Bay Road and Morrissey’s residence at 1842 Guadalupe St.

“He had packages for sale ready to, other parts were drying and other parts were on racks,” explained Jeff Catchings, SLEDNET commander.

Catchings said the storage sheds were big enough to pull a tractor-trailer into.

At the suspect’s house officers said they found 30 grams of psilocybin mushrooms and two gummy bears injected with LSD. They also confiscated a butane honey oil extraction lab that is used to extract pure THC from the plant.

“It’s on the same scale as operating a meth lab,” Catchings said.

The street value of the marijuana is about $230,000. It sells for between $2,000 and $3,000 a pound.

An arrest warrant has been issued for Morrissey’s partner, Jonah Shanks of South Lake Tahoe, for cultivation and conspiracy to distribute.

Catchings said Morrissey told officers he was selling to one of the collectives in town. That particular collective denied buying from Morrissey. Morrissey does not possess a medical marijuana card.