OTISFIELD – Maine drug agents found 99 marijuana plants outside two homes on Ahonen Road on Friday and have charged one homeowner in the case.

Summoned to court was Nicholas Palmer, 23, of 233 Ahonen Road, on a charge of cultivating marijuana, a Class D misdemeanor, said Oxford County Sheriff’s Department Cpl. Chancey Libby, who also works for the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency.

Another 47 plants were found at 251 Ahonen Road. The resident there was expected to turn himself in Monday night, he said.

Police got a tip about the plants, Libby said, and a helicopter spotted them. After obtaining two search warrants for the homes, agents moved in and started pulling up plants about 10 a.m. Friday. Neighborhood residents helped police locate all the sites, he said.

Libby said most of the plants had buds on them and were in the flowering stage. Some were only a foot tall while others reached heights of 4 and 5 feet.

Searchers also uncovered animal hides in one residence and called the Maine Warden Service to investigate.

Five Oxford County sheriff’s deputies, two Maine Drug Enforcement Agency agents, one Rumford patrolman, three wardens and a state police dog worked at the scenes.

Four marijuana plants were also found in the woods off Tuelltown Road in West Paris on Friday, Libby said. Further details were not available because of the ongoing investigation there.

Staff Writer Terry Karkos contributed to this story.

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