It was a case of exceedingly bad luck, amazing stupidity, and, perhaps, serious competitive zeal.
A 23-year-old West Miami-Dade man named Reynel Gil was arrested Thursday after his house was broken into and police discovered 17 pot plants with about nine pounds of weed.
Officers didn't have much detail on the case Friday morning but said Gil was the "victim" of a burglary and that a call had been placed to 911 called police about 3:30 a.m. to report that three men had broken into his family's home, tied up both himself and his mother, and then ransacked the place.
Cops called the home a "hydroponics lab" and said the pot was worth a combined $36,000. After they found plants in the garage, Gil signed a confession. He then told cops about another grow house at 30 SW 23rd Avenue near Miami High School, where police discovered 20 more pot plants with 62 pounds of marijuana.
Reynel Gil was arrested and charged with cultivating marijuana and trafficking marijuana.
It is unclear whether Gil's parents, a competitor, or the pot grower himself called the cops.
Gil doesn't have a criminal record, and the house where he lived belongs to Maria De Jesus Gil and Victor M. Alonso, who have lived there since 2005.
One thing is clear: The young man will be grounded for a very long time, maybe even after he goes to jail.
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