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Ore. man sentenced to 16 months for home marijuana

12:41 PM PST on Thursday, February 7, 2008

Associated Press

CORVALLIS, Ore. -- A man arrested for an indoor marijuana growing operation after a county worker smelled the illegal plant on a tax payment has been sentenced to 16 months in prison.

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Eric Brian Michaelis, 37, also agreed to forfeit more than $65,000 in cash seized after Benton County sheriff's deputies found 230 marijuana plants inside his home in November.

Deputies found almost every room in the house filled with marijuana plants, from seedlings to bushes that were 4 feet tall. The operation included a back-up generator to power the grow lamps in case the electricity went out.

The investigation started when a Benton County tax clerk noticed that the $600 in cash that Michaelis used to pay his taxes smelled like marijuana.

"It's safe to say that it's at least the biggest indoor marijuana bust in the last 10 years," said Chief Deputy District Attorney Chris Stringer.

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