W. Vincent resident accused of  marijuana-growing operation

By Kathleen Brady Shea, Managing Editor, The Times

Christian Titone is accused of running a large-scale, marijuana-growing operation, police said.

Authorities said an alleged marijuana grower thought his remote location and sophisticated surveillance system would protect him from police.

Christian Titone, 53, of West Vincent Township, was incorrect in that belief, Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan said Thursday in announcing his arrest. “The defendant thought he could outsmart the police trying to grow marijuana in a secluded location in Chester County.  He was wrong,” said Hogan.  “We have confiscated his drugs, arrested him, and now will move to forfeit everything associated with his drug-dealing.”

Chester County Detectives, assisted by other law enforcement agencies, executed a search warrant on May 7 at the defendant’s home, where they found a complex hydroponic growing operation and over 180 live marijuana plants in various stages of maturity, Hogan said.

“A high-tech, high-end drug operation like this would be providing drugs to suppliers from Phoenixville to Kennett Square and points beyond,” said Hogan.

Police found a sophisticated marijuana-growing operation at the home of a West Vincent Township resident, said Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan.

According to the criminal complaint, the house also contained processed marijuana that had been harvested for sale.  The marijuana consisted of 12 different strains, labeled with names such as Afrodite Mother, JBS Pineapple, and Ace of Spades, Hogan said. The basement hydroponic system included grow lights, an irrigation system, and ventilation fans; a state-of-the-art surveillance system allowed Titone to observe all areas inside and outside of the home on a series of high-definition monitors throughout the house, Hogan said.

After Titone’s residence was secured by Chester County Detectives and members of the Chester County High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Strike Force (HIDTA), members of the Pennsylvania State Police’s Clandestine Laboratory Team removed the marijuana and all of the equipment used in its propagation, Hogan said.

He credited the Chester County Detectives, Pennsylvania State Police, Oxford Police Department, Kennett Square Police Department, and the Chester County District Attorney’s Drug Unit with excellent teamwork in the investigation.

Titone has been charged with several drug-dealing offenses, including possession with the intent to distribute controlled substances and possession of drug paraphernalia, the criminal complaint said.  Hogan said Titone was released after “promptly” paying $100,000 cash bail. He said a preliminary hearing would be scheduled in the near future.