P.

I. FACTS

On September 10, 2009, several police officers executed a search warrant on a residence at 1619 Ohio Street in Richmond. The windows of the house were covered in blue steel security screens and a locked gate barred entry to the property. The officers had to force entry into the house. As they were about to enter, they saw defendant run

1 out of the house through a side door, and run toward the backyard. The officers arrested him. The house contained a large marijuana cultivation operation with a total of 1,416 plants, which could produce a yearly harvest worth at least $200,000 to $600,000. There were ballast systems, designed to amplify electrical output for grow lights, and a ventilation system commonly used by indoor growers to conceal the marijuana odor from neighbors and to reduce the “heat signature.”1 A bypass device had been installed on the house‟s PG&E meter. According to expert testimony, indoor marijuana cultivation uses a great deal of power for grow lights, so growers use a bypass device to prevent the PG&E meter from reading the true amount of electricity used. Just inside the front door was a living area with a sleeping bag and a couch. Apparently, there…