Low-tech marijuana grow operation seized along with pot and paraphernalia
By Jon Johnson
GRAHAM COUNTY – A 16-year-old girl suffered multiple facial lacerations Sunday, March 11, after her boyfriend allegedly clocked her in the head with a marijuana water pipe (bong). A rudimentary marijuana grow operation was also discovered at the home.
Deputies were dispatched to the residence off W. Concho Street at about 8:24 p.m. regarding the assault and continued criminal damage.
The 16-year-old boyfriend also allegedly threatened the girl’s father with a knife and an ax and broke out windows to the house and a windshield of what was identified as a Jeep SUV that was parked at the residence, according to reports from the Graham County Sheriff’s Office.
The juvenile girl was treated at the scene by paramedics from Lifeline ambulance, who then transported her to Mt. Graham Regional Medical Center for further treatment of lacerations to her nose, scalp, forehead, hands, and forearms. She advised that she was sitting on a bed with her boyfriend talking about breaking up when he hit her in the head with a glass bong.
The girl’s father, Richard Henderson, said his daughter and the juvenile male have been in an intimate relationship for about a year and the male had recently begun living at the residence a few months ago. He said he heard them arguing and then glass breaking. He then located his daughter standing outside her room bleeding from her head.
He said the juvenile male went outside and Henderson went to confront him but the juvenile had a knife and a piece of wood in his hands, so he just closed the door. He then heard his windows breaking and later located the juvenile male back inside his house, this time armed with an ax, demanding Henderson let him retrieve his belongings.
The juvenile male was located hiding in a tree near the residence. An ax was located underneath a nearby vehicle, the knife was found in a wash and a piece of wood was located by a broken window.
The juvenile male had a small cut on his hand and said he had been stabbed by his girlfriend. He said his girlfriend was attempting to stab him with a knife in the bedroom and that was why he struck her with the glass bong. A medical worker at the hospital said the male’s injury appeared to be a stab wound and not a laceration from breaking the glass.
The juvenile said he and his girlfriend had taken some Xanax he purchased with the intent of selling to make money to buy weed and that she was “spaced out.” He allegedly admitted to hitting the vehicle’s windshield and throwing a piece of wood through the residence’s window but said he grabbed the ax because he saw Henderson with a knife and he wanted to defend himself.
The female juvenile admitted to smoking marijuana and said they usually procured the pot from her boyfriend’s parents.
While at the residence, deputies located a shattered glass bong, a small amount of marijuana, multiple pieces of drug paraphernalia and a bag of a pink crystal-like substance that was unidentified but field tested positive for amphetamines. They also located what appeared to be a rudimentary marijuana grow room with a bathtub coated in foil wrapping lit by several UV lamps and heat lights. Inside the bathtub were several plastic cups with soil and seeds. One of the plastic cups was labeled “Kush #5”, which is a strain of medical-grade marijuana.
The female juvenile was eventually referred to juvenile probation for possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia, and Henderson was listed as committing a violation of contributing to the delinquency of a minor for allowing the juveniles to smoke and grow weed in his residence as well as allowing them to have intimate relations with each other. The case was also sent to the Department of Children’s Services to examine the living conditions of the juveniles.
The male juvenile was referred to juvenile probation for aggravated assault/domestic violence, criminal damage/domestic violence, threatening/domestic violence, possession of marijuana, production of marijuana, and possession of drug paraphernalia. The multiple Sheriff’s Office reports were sent to the Graham County Attorney’s Office for review.
