JAY — Police arrested a local man at the Franklin County jail Wednesday on new charges after police searched his residence and found a pistol and a small marijuana-growing operation, police Chief Larry White Sr. said.

James A. Woodbury, 52, was arrested on new charges of felony possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, misdemeanor illegal cultivation of marijuana and violation of condition of release, White said.

Police developed information that Woodbury was growing marijuana and was in possession of a firearm, from which he is prohibited because he is a felon, White said.

They obtained a warrant on Tuesday and searched his residence at 72 East Dixfield Road in Jay.

Woodbury had been arrested by Farmington police Monday on a charge of violation of condition of release related to a separate matter and was still in the Farmington jail when the search took place.

During the search of the residence, officers found a .25-caliber handgun hidden behind a wall inside a closet in the bathroom, White said.

“This pistol had been concealed inside of a plastic bag that was tied to a shoelace and then hung from an exposed pipe and down behind the wall,” he said.

They also found 11 marijuana plants, nine of which were flowering, White said.

Woodbury, who remained in jail Wednesday afternoon, is scheduled to appear April 20 in Franklin County Superior Court in Farmington on the new charges.

dperry@sunjournal.com