Trail cam surprise update.

[ohiohntr]

I posted under the "trail cam surprise" tag earlier.

I am writing this wondering if there are any law enforcement personal on this forum.

I talked to a neighbor whose son recognized the two guys in the photos I posted. I now have names and a phone number. They are two guys living about a mile down the road in a rented farm house. The property they live on borders the state land which borders mine and my neighbors.

I was wondering if that would be enough for the police to get a search warrant?

I suspect from the pictures I have of them they were harvesting pot. It is clear they had some type of plant with sharp pointy leaves.

The neighbor who identified them said he recently has had 2 tree stands and a feeder stolen from his woods which border mine. He states there are 4-wheeler tracks leading onto his place also.

It is also illegal to drive atvs on the state property, which is the only way they could have accessed my place.

I was planning to call the sheriff tomorrow with this information, but wanted to ask if the pictures I have would be enough to allow them to search the place for pot, or possibly stolen tree stands. Or would it be best to wait and try to get more stuff on them?

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Crunchy]

I dont think pictures alone would be enough probable cause to obtain a search warrant. Maybe the pictures if very clear, and some history of drug arrests by the guys in the pictures would get the cops over the pc hurdle. Im sure that it would be a lead to follow up on and defintely worth calling the locals.

 

[ohiohntr]

Would it make a difference if they are only renting the house? If the police talked to the owner and was given permission to search, would they even need a warrant?

 

[DonVathome]

Heck yeah turn them in.

My guess was pot - I have found it in Ohio all the time. Sure it may be past harvest time - but they were getting there plants out for the winter.

I hope they can do something. Unreal.

 

[bucksniper]

Come on guys....a plant is not a crime. Trespassing yes, but who gives a damn about a plant. Just because the establishment says it's bad, DOES NOT MEAN SO! If those trespassing morons abused whiskey on a daily basis, that is much worse, and it's legal. Reexamine your inner morals. Everything mankind touches can be abused or managed, depending on the strength of the individual!

 

[upmuley]

>Come on guys....a plant is not
>a crime. Trespassing yes, but
>who gives a damn about
>a plant. Just because the
>establishment says it's bad, DOES
>NOT MEAN SO! If those
>trespassing morons abused whiskey on
>a daily basis, that is
>much worse, and it's legal.
>Reexamine your inner morals. Everything
>mankind touches can be abused
>or managed, depending on the
>strength of the individual!


True but I'm not running ATVs on my neighbors property to knock back a couple of Miller Lites. I also generally don't have snares and booby traps around my case of beer. I understand what you are saying but I'd go after them. If they're growing pot its bad news (on top of trespassing on your land.)

 

[Verticalslope]

The pictures of the two individuals is not enough to obtain a search warrant of their residence. The reason being is that you cannot show from your pictures that they are taking, what is believed to be an illegal substance(I can't clearly make out the plant for a positive I.D.), back to their residence. It is enough for the local authorities to begin an investigation. There are other means available and it's worth reporting.

 

[browtine]

For the search warrant you would have to list what exactly your searching for. If you don't know what your missing, you won't be able to get any law enforcement agency to look seriously at this case... Sorry

Later, Brandon

 

[ohiohntr]

LAST EDITED ON Oct-16-08 AT 12:41PM (MST)[p]Bucksniper,

I could care less if they want to smoke on their own time. When they trespass on me is where I have a problem with it. My wife and kids walk up there frequently in the woods. I am concerned what may happen if they come across these two during the daytime. I am pretty sure they are the same two I saw last year at 4:00 in the afternoon riding across my ridge. They saw me and turned and drove off.

I am also concerned what may happen if the cops spot a pot patch from the air growing on my place, and try and blame me. There have been several recent busts here by that method(spotting pot plants by airplane).

Trespassing alone usually is only a small fine. If they are also growing drugs on my place and stealing neighbors tree stands and could get busted for that also, they could potentially see jail time, as well as lose their ATV because of it. If that happened, they may think twice about coming on my place again.

 

[OutdoorWriter]

Since its your property, maybe getting the police to search it for the pot farm might provide what you need. Or perhaps you can search on your own, and if you find the pot, notify the police. It shouldn't be real difficult considering they are riding ATVs to the general area. Then the police can possibly tie that to the plant seen in the photo. -TONY

TONY MANDILE

How To Hunt Coues Deer

 

[fldrw22]

LAST EDITED ON Oct-16-08 AT 11:55AM (MST)[p]I completely agree with Tony ,Its youre property ,let the K-9 officer go in and try to locate the patch .The Authorities dont need a warrent when they have the owners consent.At the least ,you will know youre wife and kids are or are not in danger of stumbling across a pot farm .Those sick #$%@$ will do what ever it takes to protect it ,Nip it in the bud now .No pun intended.

 

[mtnmayhem]

Do something now before there's a meth lab on your land somewhere.

 

[WildBob]

Yea really, what happens when someone else finds their patch on your land and you get turned in? Then if you come up with this 'suspicious' story and pictures at that time when it's the DEA questioning you - it would look really fishy IMO!

I'd notify the authorities and let them do their job before it comes back to you from another angle.

 

[MJRELKFREAK]

well i get you should invite the sherriff up today. show him the pic,s and the internet post and replies. then take him to the spot on the land!!!! alot of people have lost a great deal fighting the same things in court. proving their not the growers. now that being said. it dont look like a pot plant to mutch. seen a million threw the yrs. i am a product of the 60,s. lol if they had a crop they would not bring it out like that... they would pull it and stuff it into packs and haul it. not 1 plant at a time. if it was a pot plat. i bet its the only 1 that grew for them. forget the cable on the trail. even if they are trespassing. if they get hurt your in for moore brain and pocket damadge. find where they are heading in from. and before your dirt do it. or better yet. string 8 pound test fishing line between the trees. about nose levle. 8 pound test will break before their nose comes all the way off. i saw a guy in the uintas take a young pine. 15 footer cutt it off at the base. wedged it between 2 other close together trees. bent the devil into it and set it with a cord wire. rumor has it the guy he set it for hit it. broke 6 ribs. another thing to think about before you get someone busted. will they come back and do something to my family. think this over buddy. ken

 

[Utah400Elk]

I have worked as a police officer (narcotic detective) for over 10 years. This is simple and more common than many people think. The pictures are not enough for a search warrant of their residence. There is no nexus from your property trail cameras to their residence. As some have said, it is plenty to start an investigation. If I was in your shoes, I would immediately call the local police department. You could come out looking very bad if a grow is found on your property. Merely producing trail cam pics after the fact might seem suspect to the police. With your permission, the local police can search your property. I would show them the trail cam pictures then explain your legitimate concerns. Then take them to the area of the trail cameras. The cameras should give them a direction to start their searching. I would then put up a very big sign notifying trespassers that the police are investigating the grow (if one is found). I would put this where they parked their quads. This time of year you might be too late. In most states the growing season for marijuana is over. The sign will scare off the suspects if they are in fact growing marijuana and do come back to your property. It will probably get them to leave the area (i.e. move from the nearby farm house).

On a side note, a renter?s expectation to privacy is the same in a rental house as a property owners.

 

[ohiohntr]

LAST EDITED ON Oct-16-08 AT 08:48PM (MST)[p]An interesting thing happened today. I work in a bordering county to where I live. I happened to be at lunch and the county sheriff who is one of my patients happened to come into the restaurant. We talked and then I showed him the pictures. It's too bad I don't live in the county I work. He was all gung ho about going after them. He said if I lived there, he would go out personally. He did give me the name and number of a captain in the sheriffs office here and told me to mention he referred me.

I called and gave them the info. They said they could get them for trespassing for sure, and if they find anything while talking to them, maybe get them for other things. They said they may even send up the plane to look for possible pot patches in the area. I suggested if they go to confront the suspects, they simply show them the pictures and ask what that plant was they were loading up, and see what they say. If they are as smart as a few of the people around here, they may just blurt out "It's pot".

I also called the game warden on a suggestion from a friend who works with the sheriffs office alot. My friend felt that from their crossing the state wildlife area on ATVs, the wildlife officer would want to pursue that.
He seemed more interested in pursuing the drug charge as well. He said he had previously busted one of the guys for driving ATVs on the state land. He said that for a second offense, he could now pursue confiscating the ATV.

So now I will sit back and see what happens.

I had to laugh as I was driving home tonight, I passed the house where the "suspects" live and one of them was out by the road getting his mail. He matched exactly one of the guys in the pictures. I just waved and drove by.

 

[ohiohntr]

Thanks for the info.

 

[1911]

"Come on guys....a plant is not a crime. Trespassing yes, but who gives a damn about a plant. Just because the establishment says it's bad, DOES NOT MEAN SO! If those trespassing morons abused whiskey on a daily basis, that is much worse, and it's legal. Reexamine your inner morals. Everything mankind touches can be abused or managed, depending on the strength of the individual! "

Just for clarification, it is a plant yes, and by virtue of law it is also a crime. The specific plant in the photo, well, we don't know for sure because it is inconclusive as to whether it is marijuana or aloe vera. Since you are dropping the pothead mantra of "the establishment" "inner morales" ect., I take it you are refering to the plant as though it is marijuana and not aloe vera. As for who gives a damn about a plant. Well, I'd say quite a few people, in particular, those who stand be harmed by this (yes) criminal activity. Probably the folks running a grow operation with such plants also give a damn about it and are willing to do sometimes crazy things to keep people away from the plant or plants as the case may be. You wanna go roast a bowl every day at 4:20 to satisfy your addiction (or eh.. glauacoma), knock youself out. Myself, I'd prefer to walk through the woods without the worry of stepping into a booby trap and stumble into two guys weilding shotguns because I walked into their grow.

 

[completesportsman]

ohiohntr,
I hope you nail their a$$es, keep us updated.

 

[RJ]

I just saw this thread after your update. I have 3 of the exact same camera and I put one up after my dad thought some of his gas was being siphoned out of his feed truck. 2 days after putting it up we caught a guy and his mom siphoning gas at 12:40am. Burned them to a CD and called the Sheriff. They recognized them and arrested them the next day. I will post them once it goes through the courts.