Two Cape homes busted for growing marijuana, 3 arrested

CAPE CORAL, Fla.- Two marijuana grow houses across the street from each other in northeast Cape Coral were busted by deputies Thursday night.

Narcotics detectives with the Lee County Sheriff’s Office say they had their eyes on the homes on the 1200 block of Northeast 19th Avenue, just north of Pine Island Road, for three months.

Pablo Batista, 21, his father Ramon Batista, 61, and Jose Silva Manresa, 52, were arrested for cultivating and trafficking marijuana.

“It’s very shocking to know all of that happened and that I missed it all last night,” said Jessi Heim.

Heim lives on Northeast 19th Avenue and says she had no idea two marijuana grow houses were just feet away from her home.

“It’s actually kind of worrisome because we have a lot of kids living in the neighborhood. We have a fairly quiet neighborhood and we never realized anything going on,” said Heim.

A sheriff’s office report states detectives saw several men and women travel back and forth between the houses several times a day.

After his arrest, deputies say Pablo Batista told authorities he was planning to open a business with the money earned from selling the marijuana. He also said his father, Ramon Batista, was “old and had too many health problems,” so he moved in to help grow the plants, authorities said.

Inside the Batistas’ homes, officials say they found 28 living marijuana plants, weighing a total of 101 pounds, in three different rooms. In Manresa’s house, a total of 36 marijuana plants were discovered, as well as items commonly associated with growing marijuana.