On Saturday, Hillsborough County Sheriff’s deputies arrested a man they discovered growing marijuana and illegally drawing electricity to do it.
Pedro Luis De Armas Oliva, 49, was seen leaving his residence, 6521 Alta Monte Drive at 5:20 p. m. when a deputy saw him carrying two large black garbage bags, and putting them into the trunk of a vehicle.
The deputy followed the vehicle and after seeing the driver, Siomara Estrada-Angel, commit a traffic offense, he pulled the car over. As the deputy approached the car he reported smelling marijuana. He later discovered that the two garbage bags in the trunk were filled with fresh cut marijuana plants.
De Armas Oliva reportedly told deputies he did not know what was inside the garbage bags but he had shown Estrada-Angel a large amount of marijuana he had drying in a room inside his house.
Deputies searched the house and found high sodium vapor lights, ballasts, 24 marijuana root balls, an electrical board, digital scales and a plastic baggy and loose marijuana.
De Armas Oliva reportedly told deputies he had lived at the house for a month, but an investigator with TECO said he set up a utilities account on January 6th.
An illegal tap supplying unmetered power to the residence and estimated the total theft over the past three months to be more than $4,600.
De Armas Oliva was arrested and charged with trafficking of marijuana, cultivation of marijuana, renting for the purpose of trafficking marijuana, grand theft of electricity and possession of drug paraphernalia. He is being held with bail.
PEDRO LUIS DE ARMAS OLIVA
