Arapahoe County investigators arrested a couple who allegedly used expensive, rented homes in Arapahoe, Douglas and El Paso counties for a sophisticated pot-growing operation.
South Metro Drug Task Force spokesman Sgt. Larry Etheridge said Brian Wayne Coplen, 24, and Melissa Violet Haraldson, 21, rented at least five properties for their growing operation, sometimes using stolen identities to open gas and electric utility accounts.
The investigation began in late March, when a homeowner told Arapahoe County deputies he suspected marijuana was being grown in a house in the 3200 block of Lenaview Circle in Bennett that he had rented out.
The South Metro Drug Task Force found what investigators described as a “sophisticated marijuana-growing operation” with more than 100 marijuana plants inside.
Coplen and Haraldson are charged in connection with the pot-growing operation. Coplen also faces more than other 20 charges, including possession of marijuana, possession with intent to distribute, identity theft and money laundering. Howard Pankratz, The Denver Post
