Waterford man charged after grow operation found in residence

RACINE (WITI) -- Racine County Sheriff's officials have announced the arrest of 51-year-old Jeffrey Kolby, after they say a large marijuana grow operation was discovered at his Waterford residence.

A search warrant was executed on Kolby's home on S. River Street on Friday morning, September 6th.

During the search of the residence, 14 marijuana plants were located inside a bedroom, along with 128 individual packages of marijuana with a gross weight of 93.2 ounces (5.8 pounds).

Kolby now faces the following charges:

The criminal complaint in the case says Kolby told officials he has lived in the residence since 1999, and began growing marijuana when the economy took a dump in 2008. Kolby told officials he lost his part-time job in 2008, and started growing marijuana to pay the bills.

The complaint says Kolby told officials he sells approximately $1,000 to $2,000 worth of marijuana per moth, and sells by the ounce -- $150 per ounce.

The complaint says Kolby's residence was within 867.36 feet of Waterford High School and 992.50 feet of St. Thomas School.