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Watauga County Sheriff’s Office Seizes 401 Pot Plants, 67 Grams of Hallucinogenic Mushrooms Thursday

By Jesse Wood

May 24, 2013. Detectives with the Watauga County Sheriff’s Office seized more than 400 marijuana plants and 67 grams of hallucinogenic mushrooms at a Zionville residence on Thursday.

Photo courtesy of the Watauga County Sheriff's Office
Photo courtesy of the Watauga County Sheriff’s Office

The plants, estimated to have a street value of more than $450,000, were in varying stages of development and weighed 130.5 pounds all together. The plants were cultivated with a sophisticated hydroponic growing system, according to a release from the Watauga County Sheriff’s Office.

Jason Dale Blount, 27, and Geneva Anna-Marie Natale, 24, were charged with two counts of level 2 trafficking marijuana, manufacturing marijuana, manufacturing hashish, possessing mushrooms, possessing paraphernalia and maintaining a dwelling with controlled substances.

Blount
Blount

Subsequent to a narcotics investigation involving the distribution and manufacture of marijuana, the Special Operations Division within the Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant on the residence, located at 124 Chase-Cole Lane in Zionville.

Blount and Natale are being held at the Watauga County Detention Facility in lieu of a $20,000 secured bond.  Both Blount and Natale are scheduled to appear in District Court on June 26, 2013.

Natale
Natale