Seattle man pleads guilty for pot farms in county

Published 10:30 pm Monday, April 6, 2009

SEATTLE — A man responsible for a vast marijuana growing operation in five Snohomish County homes entered a guilty plea in federal court in Seattle on Monday and faces up to nine years in prison.

Jerry R. Berkey, 36, of Seattle admitted to running grow houses that produced more than 4,000 marijuana plants during the past five years, said Emily Langlie, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s office.

The homes were in Everett, Lynnwood and Edmonds, Langlie said. Each house produced about $3,000 worth of the illegal drugs each month.

Berkey worked with several other people to maintain the properties and tend the crops.

He was arrested on Oct. 10. The case was investigated by officers with the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, the Snohomish Regional Drug Task Force, the Seattle Police Department and the Olympic Peninsula Narcotics Enforcement Team.

Berkey is scheduled to be sentenced in U.S. District Court on July 10.