Alleged Marijuana Grower Is Arrested : Drugs: Sheriff’s investigators, who seized 280 plants, say Matthew Powers, 27, had turned his ‘typical’ Lake Forest home into a highly sophisticated indoor farm.

Orange County Sheriff’s Department narcotics investigators have arrested an alleged marijuana grower and seized several hundred plants, closing down what they called one of the most sophisticated indoor marijuana-growing operations in more than a decade, a sheriff’s spokesman said Thursday.

Matthew Powers, 27, of Lake Forest had allegedly converted a “typical” two-story suburban home in the 22000 block of Aspan Street into an indoor marijuana farm, said Sheriff’s Sgt. Al Coutts.

The 1,000-watt “grow lamps” and other sophisticated equipment inside the house used enough electricity to power 82 outdoor street lamps, according to estimates by Southern California Edison, Coutts said.

“The bulbs on these lamps are as long and wide as footballs and cost about $130 apiece,” he said. “It was a major-league operation and by far the most sophisticated indoor growing place I’ve seen in 15 years.”

Powers had allegedly tapped into an electrical line leading into his neighborhood and hooked up transformers to power the marijuana cultivation equipment, keeping his monthly electrical bill at just $13.95, Coutts said.

“Edison gave us a ballpark figure after looking at this setup and said that it would have cost from $1,000 to $2,000 a month to power the operation,” he said.

Inside the house, the bedrooms, the bathrooms and a large closet had been converted into nurseries, Coutts said. The only furniture was in a small office, he said.

“One converted bedroom was used as a drying room, which was hooked up to a digitally controlled thermostat,” Coutts said. “Other bedrooms had four lamps in each room, with aluminum reflectors on them, giving them a hothouse effect.”

Sheriff’s investigators seized 280 marijuana plants, which included 40 pounds of dried plants, he said. Powers was charged with possession of marijuana with intent to sell and related offenses, Coutts said. An unidentified suspect who is believed to have been Powers’ accomplice is being sought.