MILL CREEK — A domestic violence call in Mill Creek on Tuesday morning led police to a house full of marijuana plants, drugs and a man hiding in a crawl space with a hunting rifle.
“It was a long, long operation,” Sgt. Ian Durkee said Wednesday.
Police were summoned for help early Tuesday morning, Durkee said. A woman told 911 dispatchers that her husband had assaulted her and driven away. She said she was at their home on 43rd Avenue SE with her 17-month-old daughter.
When police arrived, the woman refused to cooperate or give a statement, Durkee said.
Officers did, however, notice a strong smell of “burnt marijuana mixed with fresh marijuana” in the home, he said.
They came back later to see if the woman’s husband had returned.
Officers then could see the man inside the home, as well as detect “a very, very strong smell of fresh, green, leafy marijuana around the outside of the house,” Durkee said.
They kept surveillance outside while they waited for a judge to sign a search warrant.
When officers served the warrant that afternoon, the woman told them the man had run out the back door, Durkee said. However, officers watching the house knew the man hadn’t left.
They found him in a crawl space. When he came out, they found a loaded hunting rifle in his hiding spot, Durkee said.
Police also found 66 marijuana plants, as well as marijuana-growing lights and equipment. In addition, they found heroin, cocaine, prescription pain killers and nearly $19,000 in cash, according to a police affidavit.
They also recovered a shotgun and five handguns, at least one of which had been reported stolen locally. They found stockpiled ammunition. The man is a felon.
“He can’t have one bullet, he can’t have 1,000, and he sure can’t have a gun,” Durkee said.
The man and woman were arrested and booked into Snohomish County Jail. The man, 32, was being held for investigation of manufacturing marijuana, illegally possessing firearms and various other crimes, court records show. He also is being investigated for fourth-degree domestic violence assault.
The woman, 25, was being held for investigation of drug-related crimes and possessing a stolen firearm.
The couple’s initial court hearing was postponed Wednesday afternoon because they were waiting to be represented by a privately hired lawyer.
The baby is being cared for by relatives, police said.
Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com.
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