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A Rhode Island man who reported a stolen safe to police was charged with marijuana possession after police opened it and found two pounds of pot and $5,000.
Sean Riley, 45, of Portsmouth, R.I., drove to the police station to retrieve his safe, and helped officers open it, reports Bryan Rourke at The Providence Journal.
“He gave us the code,” said Lt. Brian Peters of the Portsmouth Police Department. “He wanted to prove it was his safe.”
“When the officers opened it up, they got quite a surprise,” Peters said.
The officers found their discovery quite interesting, and they started wondering what else Riley might possess. So they went to his house.
“We found 14 marijuana plants growing in a shed at the rear of his property,” Peters said. “And we found additional marijuana inside the home.”
Riley was charged with possession of marijuana with intent to deliver.
The two burglary suspects — who had already been spotted and reported by a neighbor as they took the safe out of the house, down a driveway and into a car — were also arrested.
Officers spotted their car and pulled it over, discovering the safe in the back of the vehicle, according to Peters.
David Nicholson and Ryan Souza, both 19 and of Portsmouth, were charged with breaking and entering and with larceny over $500. For good measure, they were both charged with possession of marijuana.
That charge wasn’t for the marijuana in the safe they stole, though.
“When they were stopped, they were found to have marijuana under their seat,” Peters said.
Everyone involved is scheduled to be arraigned Friday in District Court in Newport, R.I.
