Man Busted For Electricity Theft And Pot Cultivation After Fire Reveals Grow House

A 39-year-old man was arrested in San Francisco’s Sunnyside neighborhood on Thursday night after authorities responding to a house fire found a marijuana grow operation there, police and fire officials said today.

The fire was reported at 10:39 p.m. at a home in the 300 block of Joost Avenue and was extinguished at 11:13 p.m., fire spokeswoman Mindy Talmadge said.

After extinguishing the blaze, firefighters notified police about marijuana cultivation activity in the home, police spokesman Officer Gordon Shyy said.

Officers discovered the occupant or occupants of the home were stealing electricity for the pot grow operation and that there were large quantities of marijuana inside, Shyy said.

Police arrested Stephen Dickson III, a San Francisco resident, on suspicion of theft of utility services, cultivation of marijuana and possession of marijuana for sale, Shyy said.

Dan McMenamin, Bay City News

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