Brothers accused of running huge marijuana operation in Perryville

Editor's note: In a probable-cause statement, Deputy Jason Kelley wrote Dylan Stark "agreed he had received marijuana from the residence." In a telephone interview Thursday, Stark told a Southeast Missourian reporter the statement was incorrect and that he never told officers he got marijuana from the residence. He denied any involvement with the growing operation and said he told officers the same.

Two brothers were arrested for running a marijuana growing operation in the basement of a Perryville, Missouri, residence, deputies said.

Perry County Sheriff Gary Schaaf said the operation was among the most sophisticated he’d come across.

Dylan Stark

Perry County sheriff’s deputies executed a search warrant on Jesse C. Stark’s residence in the 200 block of Zeno Street in Perryville about 10 p.m. Tuesday, according to a probable-cause statement filed in the case by Perry County sheriff’s deputy Jason D. Kelley.

Officers found Stark, 33, and his brother Dylan J. Stark, 27, of Cape Girardeau, in the home with “a large marijuana grow operation,” Kelley wrote.

Dylan Stark told officers he knew of the growing operation, and he previously had received marijuana from the residence but denied taking marijuana from the residence to Cape Girardeau to sell, Kelley wrote.

Jesse Stark, invoking his Miranda rights, declined to speak with officers, according to the statement.

In the basement, officers found 49 marijuana plants in three stages of development, the largest of which were between five and six feet tall, complete with lighting, fans and ventilation tubing to support them, Kelley wrote.

Officers also found four plastic containers, 24 Mason jars, six gallon bags and three quart bags filled with marijuana buds upstairs, Kelley wrote.

In total, six pounds of processed marijuana and another six pounds of unprocessed marijuana were seized along with more than $5,000 cash, a jar of “hash honey oil” and materials needed to extract the oil, Kelley wrote.

In the kitchen, police found two Mason jars containing psilocybin mushrooms, and in a desk drawer, police uncovered a pill later identified to be Adderall, a controlled substance, Kelley wrote.

Police also found “numerous items of drug paraphernalia” in the residence, according to the statement.

The Perry County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged Jesse Stark with two counts of manufacturing a controlled substance within 2,000 feet of a school, two counts of delivery of a controlled substance other than 35 grams or less of marijuana and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia. His bond was set at $20,000.

Dylan Stark is charged with two counts of manufacturing a controlled substance within 2,000 feet of a school and one count of unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia. His bond was set at $20,000.

The brothers each have one conviction of unlawful use of drug paraphernalia from Perry County.

tgraef@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3627

Pertinent address:

200 block of Zeno Street, Perryville, Mo.