Battery call results in seizure of 17 marijuana plants in Montezuma
San Miguel County Sheriff’s deputies located a suspected marijuana grow operation while attempting to arrest a man wanted for striking his girlfriend with a belt, according to court records.
Ardell R. Cavitt, 53, of Montezuma, was arrested Oct. 10 and booked into the San Miguel County Detention Center on several charges, including possession with intent to distribute marijuana, bribery of a witness and aggravated battery.
Court records show that deputies responded to a home in Montezuma on Oct. 9 after a woman called police to say her boyfriend had struck her with a belt and threatened her when she said she was going to call the police.
According to an affidavit for an arrest warrant filed in San Miguel Magistrate Court, the woman told deputies she was at Cavitt’s home, and when she attempted to leave, he removed his belt and struck her thigh several times, leaving welts. The woman said Cavitt then took her cellphone away from her and wouldn’t allow her to call police.
The woman told police she started walking to a friend’s home to borrow their phone, and that while en route to that friend’s house, Cavitt rode up to her on a motorcycle to ask where she was going. When she said she was going to call the police, Cavitt told her that if she called the police, she’d “regret it.”
Police were unable to locate Cavitt, and a warrant for his arrest was issued.
The next day, deputies went to Cavitt’s home in an attempt to arrest him and to serve him with a restraining order. Cavitt was not at home, but according to a second affidavit for an arrest warrant filed in Magistrate Court, deputies smelled a strong odor of marijuana coming from Cavitt’s home. By peering into a window, a deputy spotted what they believed to be “harvested marijuana” on a table and several planted marijuana plants.
Deputies returned with a search warrant and entered the house where they found Cavitt hiding beneath a pile of blankets in an upstairs bedroom.
According to police, Cavitt admitted the marijuana plants were his, but he said they were for personal use and that he sometimes gave some pot to his friends as well.
During a search of the home, deputies located 17 marijuana plants, marijuana seeds, a scale and a small amount of cultivated marijuana.
Cavitt was arrested and booked into SMCDC that evening, and he remained in custody as of this writing. He is charged with felony possession with intent to distribute marijuana and felony bribery of a witness.
He is also charged with three misdemeanors: aggravated battery, interference with communications and possession of drug paraphernalia.
At an Oct. 11 hearing, Judge Christian Montaño set bond for Cavitt at $2,000, citing Cavitt’s minimal criminal history.
Cavitt is scheduled to appear in Magistrate Court Oct. 22 for the bribery of a witness case, and Oct. 24 for the possession with intent to distribute case.
