A second-grader's story about helping a farmer grow "special medicine" plants led to the bust of an indoor marijuana growing operation in Vermont, authorities said.
According to an affidavit, an 8-year-old boy told school officials and Windsor police detective Jennifer Frank that he helped his mother's boyfriend, 54-year-old Steven Mann, grow "special medicine that can cure anything at all," The Times-Argus reports.
Police said they found 50 marijuana plants worth $75,000, along with two "grow rooms" next to the child's bedroom and other drug-related items.
Mann and his girlfriend, 25-year-old Leona Hunt, were each charged with marijuana cultivation, possession of a hallucinogenic drug, possession of a depressant or stimulant and cruelty to a child.
Mann pleaded not guilty this week in a White River Junction court to a felony count of cultivating more than 25 marijuana plants.
Frank said the boy had described what sounded like marijuana plants and told her that people came to the house frequently. Police said shutting down the growing operation "will have a significant effect on the illegal sales of marijuana in Windsor County."
The Department of Children and Families took custody of the child.
Information on attorneys for Hunt and Mann were not immediately available. A woman who answered a phone listing for a Steven Mann in Windsor County said it was the wrong number.
