Police Bust Machesney Park Pot Growing Operation
By: Robert Burke
Updated: February 18, 2013
Winnebago County Sheriff's Police say that officers were in the 300 block of Bauer Dr. when they noticed an overpowering odor of marijuana.
The officers requested K-9 units to the area. The dogs were able to pinpoint the house from which the smell emanated.
Ryan A. Novak, 36, would not allow the police into his house. The officers saw through a window that Novak appeared to be destroying evidence and entered the home without a warrant. The forced entry was justified, according to Winnebago County Deputy Chief Dominic Iasparro, due to the fact that the K-9 units traced the marijuana to that residence and that evidence was being destroyed.
Police arrested Novak on charges of manufacturing and possessing more than 5,000 grams of cannabis and growing more than 50 marijuana plants.
