Hundreds of suspected marijuana plants worth $500K seized in Penn Hills

Authorities seized hundreds of suspected marijuana plants during a raid on the home of a 66-year-old Penn Hills man, according to the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office.

Kenneth Creekmore will face charges of drug possession and possession with intent to deliver, District Attorney spokesman Mike Manko said.

Police from numerous departments as well as DEA agents searched the Heberton Drive home Thursday night and found about 750 suspected marijuana plants in the basement, Manko said.

In the criminal complaint against Creekmore, Swissvale police Officer Justin Keenan wrote that as soon as he got out of his vehicle, he could smell “the distinct odor of marijuana in the air.”

Authorities wrote in the complaint that Creekmore was cooperative and “spoke freely with investigators about his cultivating and selling marijuana,” saying he sold it to those who needed it for medical purposes.

He showed investigators how he’d wired the grow lights to a generator that was kept in a soundproof shed in his backyard.

Manko said the street value of the suspected drugs is about $500,000. Police also found dozens of weapons and thousands of dollars in cash.