ROCKWOOD, Pa. — A Somerset County man is facing criminal charges after police say they searched his farm and found 55 marijuana plants tucked away in a cornfield along with two moonshine stills and 144 sealed mason jars of possible moonshine, according to a police affidavit.
According to police, troopers received an anonymous tip that James Enos was growing a large amount of marijuana on Gebhart Rd. in Rockwood. State police flew an aviation unit over the farm on Aug. 7th and spotted "what appeared to be marijuana growing in the middle of a cornfield behind the barn," according to the affidavit.
Enos gave police permission to search the field, saying, "We could look and take whatever we found that was illegal as he knew nothing about marijuana growing in the cornfield," Trooper Matthew Evans wrote.
Troopers tracked down the 55 suspected marijuana plants, uprooted them, trucked them to Somerset and burned 54 of them, leaving one to be tested in a lab. Meantime, two troopers found a greenhouse at the farm that appeared to house a moonshine operation, according to the affidavit.
Along with the greenhouse was a workshop that troopers said was called the "Sugar Shack," in which police said they found 144 "sealed and packaged mason jars full of suspected 'moonshine,'" as well as other larger jars of suspected moonshine, two burners, moonshine recipes, a box of yest packets, more than a dozen 50 pound bags of granulated sugar and 16 garbage cans full of mash.
Enos is facing a a felony drug charge related to the suspected marijuana, as well as two misdemeanors. His lawyer, Matt Zatko, told 6 News he believes police don't have evidence that Enos intended to sell the marijuana.
"There's been a lot of conjecture and speculation over the past few months, and my client welcomes the opportunity to set the record straight at the proper time," Zatko said in a phone interview.
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