TOWN OF WASHINGTON - A rural Monticello man was arrested for growing pot after local authorities searched his property and seized 12 plants Monday afternoon, Sept. 17.
George W. Norton, 57, faces pending charges in Green County Circuit Court for manufacturing more than 2,500 grams of marijuana, according to the sheriff's department. He was booked into the jail Monday night.
Norton's arrest comes just days after federal agents arrested another rural Monticello man and an Argyle man for conspiring in a pot-growing operation.
Kelvin W. Johnson, 52, and Steven G. Nelson, 60, are charged in federal court. Johnson lives about two and a half miles from Norton on the same road.
"They're certainly acquaintances," said Sheriff Jeff Skatrud. But the three men are not part of the same drug operation "that we're aware of," he added.
The investigation into the Johnson and Nelson case led authorities to Norton.
At about 2:30 p.m. Monday, agents with the StateLine Area Narcotics Team (SLANT) executed a search warrant on Norton's home and garden at W7103 County C.
With the help of the sheriff's department K-9, agents reportedly seized 12 mature, cultivated marijuana plants, about 250 grams of processed marijuana and drug paraphernalia.
The seized plants are capable of producing "at least a pound of marijuana each at an estimated street value of $2,000 per pound."
State court records show Norton has two prior criminal offenses, neither drug-related. He was fined $195 for writing a worthless check in December 1993 and successfully completed a one-year deferred prosecution following misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and intimidation of a victim from January 2004.
SLANT is a multi-jurisdictional drug task force comprised of members of law enforcement agencies in Illinois and Wisconsin, including the police departments of Rockford, Loves Park, Freeport and Monroe, the Green County Sheriff's Department and Illinois State Police.
George W. Norton, 57, faces pending charges in Green County Circuit Court for manufacturing more than 2,500 grams of marijuana, according to the sheriff's department. He was booked into the jail Monday night.
Norton's arrest comes just days after federal agents arrested another rural Monticello man and an Argyle man for conspiring in a pot-growing operation.
Kelvin W. Johnson, 52, and Steven G. Nelson, 60, are charged in federal court. Johnson lives about two and a half miles from Norton on the same road.
"They're certainly acquaintances," said Sheriff Jeff Skatrud. But the three men are not part of the same drug operation "that we're aware of," he added.
The investigation into the Johnson and Nelson case led authorities to Norton.
At about 2:30 p.m. Monday, agents with the StateLine Area Narcotics Team (SLANT) executed a search warrant on Norton's home and garden at W7103 County C.
With the help of the sheriff's department K-9, agents reportedly seized 12 mature, cultivated marijuana plants, about 250 grams of processed marijuana and drug paraphernalia.
The seized plants are capable of producing "at least a pound of marijuana each at an estimated street value of $2,000 per pound."
State court records show Norton has two prior criminal offenses, neither drug-related. He was fined $195 for writing a worthless check in December 1993 and successfully completed a one-year deferred prosecution following misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and intimidation of a victim from January 2004.
SLANT is a multi-jurisdictional drug task force comprised of members of law enforcement agencies in Illinois and Wisconsin, including the police departments of Rockford, Loves Park, Freeport and Monroe, the Green County Sheriff's Department and Illinois State Police.