Officers discovered a marijuana grow operation on Monday in the Roosevelt home of a man who pleaded guilty to production of marijuana in 2024.[1] According to an affidavit of probable cause, officers arrived at the home near 300 North 600 East to serve court paperwork on Danny Lee Cooper, who came to the door.[1] Because of an odor from inside the home, the officers checked with the Duchesne County Attorney and found that a plea-in-abeyance agreement from his prior conviction requires him to permit monthly law-enforcement searches to verify that he is not cultivating marijuana.[1]
Cooper directed them to the kitchen, where there was suspected raw and burned marijuana.[1] He then led them into the basement, where two indoor grow tents contained approximately 16 large suspected marijuana plants.[1] The basement contained an extensive cultivation setup of grow lights, digital temperature gauges, fans, heaters, blowers and a ventilation system.[1] The ventilation system was routed through the basement wall and into the chimney.[1] In a separate upstairs room, officers located equipment consistent with marijuana processing and packaging, including small baggies, new plastic containers, empty pill capsules, scales, grinders, a press and a dehydrator.[1] Throughout the residence, officers also observed suspected marijuana products, including gummies, chocolates, baked goods, rolled blunts and multiple containers of a green leafy substance consistent in appearance with marijuana.[1]
Although held in abeyance, Cooper’s prior guilty plea to marijuana production is a qualifying prior offense for penalty enhancement.[1] Seventy-eight-year-old Danny Lee Cooper was arrested and charged with second-degree felony production of marijuana with a prior and misdemeanor use of drug paraphernalia.[1]
