Garden Supply Firm’s Ad Leads to Indictment of 3 on Pot Charges

The owner of a garden supply firm, a worker at the company and a third person were indicted Friday on federal marijuana charges that stemmed from an advertisement for equipment used to grow plants indoors, prosecutors said.

Joseph Elliott, 34, Patricia Lynn Chu, 26, and Albert James McCormick, 43, all of whom share a house in La Mesa, were named in a five-count indictment, charged with conspiring to grow and to possess marijuana with the intent to distribute it, U.S. Atty. William Braniff said.

A conviction could yield a 40-year prison term, Asst. U.S. Atty. Amalia L. Meza said.

Chu is the owner of the Early Pearl Garden Supply Co. in San Diego, Meza said. Elliott worked at the store, she said. Federal Drug Enforcement Administration officers, as part of a nationwide investigation of companies selling equipment suitable for the indoor cultivation of marijuana, saw a magazine advertisement the store had placed for hydroponic equipment, Meza said. Hydroponic equipment enables growers to raise plants in water, indoors if desired, without soil.

Elliott sold hydroponic equipment and 100 marijuana cuttings to an undercover DEA agent at the store, according to the indictment. Chu helped deliver the cuttings, Meza said.

In addition, agents seized 495 marijuana plants at the La Mesa residence, she said.

Elliott, Chu and McCormick are due to be arraigned Thursday before U.S. Magistrate Irma Gonzalez, Meza said.

Authorities valued the hydroponic equipment at about $2,500.