Crime & Safety
Back Yard 'Weeds' Turn Out to Be 'Weed' — Geneva Man Charged With Growing More Than 50 Pot Plants
The following information was supplied by the Geneva Police Department. Where arrests or charges are mentioned, it does not indicate a conviction.
A Geneva man who lives on Division Street has been charged with growing more than 50 marijuana plants in his back yard.
Geneva police arrested Gregory T. Panzer, 59, of Geneva on charges of producing/possessing more than 50 marijuana plants, possession of cannabis greater than 30 and less than 500 grams and possession of drug paraphernalia around 10:25 a.m. Sept. 4 in his yard in the 200 block of Division Street, reports said.
The charges of producing or possessing cannabis plants and possession of cannabis in those amounts are felonies. The unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia is a misdemeanor.
While investigating a harassment complaint, a Geneva police officer was advised by one of the parties involved that a neighbor of his estranged girlfriend was growing cannabis in the back yard of his residence. Officers proceeded to the address of the former girlfriend in the 200 block of Division Street, and she invited officers to her back yard to see what her neighbor was growing, report said.
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Police noted that the plants did, in fact, appear to be cannabis, and as they were walking back to their squad car, Panzer opened the door of his carport. An officer approached and asked him about the plants, and Panzer gave officers permission to enter the back yard to examine what the police report referred ti as “the weeds.”
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The plants were growing about 15 inches from the house, and upon inspection, “I could detect a very distinct, strong odor of cannabis emanating from the plants,” the officer wrote. Based on his training and experience, the plants did appear to be marijuana. Officers then located additional plants in the yard.
According to a report in the Daily Herald, there were 69 pot plants in all, ranging in height from about 11 inches to 4-and-a-half-feet tall.
Patch reports on law enforcement activity in Geneva, using information provided by official agencies. Persons charged with a crime, or issued a citation for violation of a local ordinance, are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. If you or a family member are charged with a crime or cited for a violation, and the charge or citation is subsequently adjudicated, we encourage you to notify Geneva editor Rick Nagel at rickn@patch.com and we will do follow-up reporting on the case.
