Authorities stumbled upon a massive amount of drugs and guns while looking for a stolen vehicle.

On Sept. 1, Cherokee County investigators went to a residence in Rose on a report of a stolen Jeep. Instead, they came across over 180 marijuana plants surrounding the property.

“Whenever we pulled up to the residence, we could see many, many marijuana plants growing in the yard,” Investigator Brad Baker said. “I make contact with the homeowner, who identified himself as Robert Thompson. I asked him for his medical marijuana card and he said he didn’t have [one].”

Baker read Thompson his Miranda rights, and the suspect chose not to talk unless he had a lawyer present.

“He was placed in custody for obvious cultivation. I spoke to his wife and read her Miranda, and she agreed to talk to me without an attorney present,” Baker said.

Melissa Thompson claimed the pot didn’t belong to her, but she was arrested. Investigators Richard Berry and Robison stayed at the house while Baker obtained a search warrant.

“It was signed by a judge, and I went back to the residence and serviced the search warrants,” Baker said. “Upon execution of the search warrant, we discovered 182 live plants on the property. Inside the residence, there was a lot of finished product that was ready for sale.”

As of Sept. 3, Baker said he didn’t know the exact weight of the illicit weed, but he believed there was enough for Thompson to be charged with trafficking.

Baker said deputies seized a variety of 16 firearms on top of the marijuana.

“Thompson is a convicted felon, and he was charged with cultivation and — depending on how much this weighs — he may be charged for trafficking marijuana,” Baker said. “He was charged with cultivation, possession of firearm in commission of a felony, and knowingly concealing stolen property, because we recovered a stolen ATV out of Delaware County on his property.”

Baker said Thompson had the marijuana stored in “every crack and crevice” inside the residence.

“We also seized a Nikon camera and Thompson had an excited utterance and said, ‘What’s wrong smoking a little bit of weed and growing a little bit of weed? I’m not hurting nobody.’ Then he said this wasn’t even his marijuana,” Baker said. “But we went through the camera and he’s got his whole operation on there, of him growing weed.”

The marijuana will be sealed and taken to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation for testing and destruction. The guns will be placed in the evidence vault at CCSO during court proceedings.

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