BY ANDY TAYLOR
Montgomery County Chronicle

CANEY — Two Caney residents were arrested late Tuesday night, July 8, after a marijuana growing operation was found in a local home.

Rick Pell, police chief, said Tim and Teresa Ingram were arrested in their home at 110 E. Third following the execution of a search warrant. Pell said an anonymous tip from a citizen alerted the Caney Police Department to the marijuana cultivation operation in the Ingrams’ attic.

Pell described the operation as “sophisticated” because of the volume and arrangement of equipment used in the growth of marijuana plants. The equipment included a water circulation system that recycled the water used in the plants’ growth. Various fertilizers and other plant growth-related chemicals were found in the attic as were several growing lights that were set up on a timing device to provide the optimum amount of light.

Two rooms in the attic were used in the operation. One room started as an incubator for the marijuana seeds while a second room contained more mature plants. Dried marijuana leaves were found throughout the attic and throughout the house, including in the kitchen and freezer.

Several hand-written notes on the wall of the attic revealed some of the ratios of chemicals used in the cloning and/or fertilization of the marijuana plants, Pell said.

Other drug paraphernalia was found in a detached garage, Pell said.

The street value of the confiscated marijuana was estimated between $150,000 and $200,000, Pell said.

“This was definitely a large-scale operation – very sophisticated,” he said.

Upon entering the home, police discovered Tim Ingram in his bedroom reaching for a gun in a dresser. Law enforcement officers were able to nab Ingram before he was able to clutch the weapon in a clothes drawer.

Two children in the home were taken into protective custody following the Ingrams’ arrests, and Pell said the Ingrams would likely face several charges, including child endangerment and possession of marijuana with intent to sell. Formal charges are expected to be issued against the couple later in the week.

Pell said police officers and other law enforcement officers involved in the arrests and investigation were troubled to find marijuana pipes and marijuana leaves sitting next to various children’s articles, including markers and coloring books, on a coffee table in the Ingram living room.

“I think that pretty tells the story of this family,” he said.

Members of the Coffeyville Police Department and the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department assisted the Caney Police Department in the arrest of the Ingrams as well as the follow-up investigation.

“This is the second major drug bust we’ve had in Caney in as many weeks,” said Pell, noting that a methamphetamine laboratory was discovered in a South McGee Street home two weeks ago.

Pell urged citizens to contact the Caney Police Department concerning suspected drug activity in their neighborhood.

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