Marijuana plants found during house fire prompt Virginia Beach man’s arrest

VIRGINIA BEACH — In an effort to put out a blaze, Virginia Beach firefighters forced their way into a townhouse in January after a nearby home caught fire.

But they didn’t find fire inside — instead they found marijuana plants, according to court documents.

Now 35-year-old Justin Paul Hunt is accused of growing the marijuana plants inside the townhouse, located in the 2600 block of Hartley Street. He’s facing a felony charge of possessing marijuana with the intent to distribute it and is scheduled to go to trial in Virginia Beach Circuit Court on Feb. 20, 2018.

Hunt’s arrest came on Jan. 19 — just four days after the Virginia Beach Fire Department was called to his block to put out a fire that had fully engulfed his neighbor’s townhouse. Firefighter’s noticed that Hunt’s home had been damaged, and went to the townhouse to see if the fire had spread to it, according to court documents filed in Virginia Beach Circuit Court.

Firefighters tried to contact Hunt before they forced their way into the townhouse to make sure that the home wasn’t part of the active fire. When they got inside, they found several tables with marijuana plants sitting on them underneath lights, court documents state.

The VBFD reported the marijuana plants to the Virginia Beach Police Department. A detective came to the scene and confirmed that the plants were in fact drugs. Police searched the home and found a large amount of marijuana inside, and Hunt was arrested, according to court documents.

Hunt was released from the Virginia Beach Correctional Center the next day on a $10,000 bail, Virginia Beach Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Kathy Hieatt wrote in an email.

Police also found paperwork that linked Hunt’s name to an account at Chartway Federal Union. On Sept. 21, they filed a search warrant for all of Hunt’s bank accounts to determine if he laundered drug money through them. Those results are pending.

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