LaSalle County men say weed just weeds: 200 pot plants growing at home

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EARLVILLE  – A LaSalle County father and son are free on $75,000 bond after being accused of cultivating a bumper crop of marijuana while trying to make it look as if it was simply growing wild.

Gregorio Vasquez, 43, and Gregorio Cano, 19, are charged with possession with intent to sell enough marijuana to make it a Class X crime, punishable by 6 to 30 years in prison, the Tri-County Drug Enforcement Narcotics Team said in a news release.

According to the release, Tri-Dent agents and Earlville police found 199 plants growing in different areas of their Earlville property, south of Paw Paw just over the Lee County line.

The men were arrested Friday at their home, 832 N. 46th Road. They have since been released.

Although Vasquez and Cano tried to make it look as if the plants were growing wild, agents  determined that they were started somewhere else before being transplanted, the news release said.

Officers also found several guns in the men’s home, according to the release said.

The Tri-Dent task force consists of officers from LaSalle, Peru, Princeton, Oglesby, Spring Valley, Marseilles, Mendota and Streator police departments, along with LaSalle, Bureau and Putnam County sheriff’s offices.