JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Jacksonville man was arrested Wednesday after police said they found 56 marijuana plants inside his Sans Souci home.
Matthew Deley is charged with cultivating marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.
According to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, Deley, 50, had an elaborate system of growing marijuana inside his home on Burkholder Circle West.
Police said they found out about Deley thanks to anonymous tips from neighbors who complained about the smell coming from his house.
"He was always going in and out all day long and all night long. I didn't know what he was up to because I've never been around anything like that before," said one neighbor, whom News4Jax has chosen not to name for safety reasons. "We don't need that in this neighborhood. This is a quiet neighborhood and I'm just glad they caught him."
When detectives arrived at the home Wednesday afternoon, they could smell the marijuana before they got to the front door, according to the arrest report.
Deley was seen driving by the residence, police said, and when a detective tried to stop him, he kept driving. Detectives said they followed him, found that he had hit and run over a curb on Burkholder Road and conducted a traffic stop.
Police said they then obtained a search warrant, entered Deley's house and located 56 marijuana plants in two rooms. Outside one of the rooms was an additional air conditioning unit with tubes going into a window, police said.
JEA reported higher than normal water consumption at the house, and police said that is consistent with indoor marijuana growing.
“It was shocking," another neighbor told News4Jax reporter Erik Avanier on Thursday. "I don't like it here. This is my home. This is not good. There's a lot of family-oriented people here."
That neighbor, who News4Jax also has chosen not to identify, said the scent of marijuana was so potent that he could smell it on police officers as they exited the front door and one of the officers told him about the discovery.
"I smelled it on him because he was in the room, I guess. He was there when they were pulling the plants out," the neighbor said. "He said there were two rooms and they were growing in there."
Neighbors said they saw five large garbage bags filled with marijuana plants taken away as evidence.
Police said they also found a marijuana pipe and loose marijuana in Deley's front pocket.
Deley takes News4Jax inside his home
Deley was booked into the Duval County Jail about 3:45 p.m. Wednesday, but was released just over 24 hours later after posting bond.
"I got a tiny little bond. I haven't been arrested in 26 years. I got the smallest bond out of everyone out of there. The judge didn't care about marijuana. They can go anywhere and buy it," said Deley, who invited Avanier and a News4Jax photographer inside his home Thursday night.
Deley took News4Jax inside the two rooms, where police said they confiscated 56 marijuana plants, and showed what was left behind after the raid.
"This is the second room. This is what the police did to my lights. This house was in great condition," he said. "All my power and stuff, they trashed everything, water tipped over. Of course, they didn't take everything."
"You got a little bit of pot left?" Avanier asked.
"Yes, it's everywhere," Deley said.
News4Jax crime and safety analyst Gil Smith said police can't charge Deley for the marijuana he showed on camera because they would have to first prove it was real, but they can investigate what he showed.
"It is possible they could have missed that because to grab 56 marijuana plants -- that's a lot of marijuana. They're looking for the big stuff. It's possible they overlooked that because those stems seem very small," Smith said.
Neighbors said the smell of marijuana was too close to children living nearby.
"There's no exposure to a smell and marijuana is not an addictive drug," Deley said in response.
"So you don't feel what you did was wrong?" Avanier said.
"Not at all. Not at all. Already doing it again somewhere else," Deley said. "It's going to be a little harder for them to reach out and touch me this time."
Avanier asked Smith if that statement was incriminating.
"Now, he might have just been upset with JSO and may or may not have another location. But there is a good possibility that he does. If he's going to go on camera with marijuana in his hand and say, 'Look what they missed,' he may have another location," Smith said. "Now that allows detective to investigate him even further."
Avanier spoke with a defense attorney, who said that because JSO is still investigating Deley, his on-air statements have opened him to the possibility of additional charged being filed.