NEWPORT — A Newport man is facing drug charges after a police lieutenant said he was driving by the man’s house recently and saw marijuana plants growing in the backyard.

The man, John J. Scully Jr., 49, of 167 Moosehead Trail, was summoned Friday on a misdemeanor charge of cultivating marijuana and a felony charge of unlawful possession of a schedule Z drug.

Lt. Randy Wing of the Newport Police Department said Scully was charged after police executed a search warrant at his house and seized 65 marijuana plants.

Wing said the drug investigation began about two weeks ago when he was following up on a separate case involving the theft of all-terrain vehicles from a residence near Sebasticook Lake on Barrows Point Road.

“I noticed the plants. They were outside his home and were clearly visible from the adjacent roadway, Barrows Point Road,” Wing said. “It took some time, and we put together a warrant.”

Wing said he and two other Newport officers executed the warrant about 3:15 p.m. and found Scully at home. Officers found two rooms being used for cultivating marijuana, Wing said, outfitted with growing lights and other drug paraphernalia. Police also seized five firearms from the residence, Wing said.

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The seized marijuana plants — 46 were found inside the house and 19 were found outside — had a processed weight of 8.2 pounds, according to Wing. Criminal charges are felonies when a suspect possesses 1 pound or more of marijuana.

Wing said the growing operation wasn’t what he would call large-scale, but he said the amount of plants seized was significant.

“Obviously, there was a lot of effort with the growing equipment,” he said.

Scully cooperated with police during the search and was issued two summonses to appear Nov. 17 at the Penobscot Judicial Center in Bangor, Wing said.

Scott Monroe — 861-9239

smonroe@centralmaine.com


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