DRUG BUST: Man Charged After Raid

Almost two years after authorities began investigating the case, one man is in jail after over 500 marijuana plants were found in a Johnston home.

Timothy Lantz was arrested and charged with running a large marijuana growing operation. 

The raid came following an unpaid bill in November of 2010 on a storage locker that housed 40 Harvest Pro 600 watt inverters, approximately 75 plastic swimming pools, two 110 gallon plastic containers and 500 plastic pots. 

A manager entered the storage unit and alerted the Polk County narcotics team of the contents.

A detective linked the name on the storage unit to a Facebook page showing a man holding marijuana plants.  Police tracked the man to the house at 7212 Longboat Drive in Johnston. 

A neighbor tipped Johnston police to a house down the street at 7323 Longboat in April regarding what they called “suspicious activity”. 

Police served a search warrant just after 8:00 a.m. Wednesday.  Lantz was arrested and charged with knowingly and intentionally manufacturing marijuana. 

Police removed over 500 marijuana plants from the two homes.

Several people with Illinois addresses have been linked to the two homes, including a 59-year-old man and an 84-year-old woman.