PARIS — A 37-year-old man pleaded not guilty Friday to growing hundreds of marijuana plants in his basement.
Richard E. Tayman Jr. of Hogan Pond Lane in Oxford entered the plea in the Oxford County Superior Court to charges of marijuana cultivation and violation of conditions of release. He is free on $2,500 unsecured bail, must not use or possess illegal drugs, and must submit to searches for them.
According to an affidavit by Agent Zane Loper of the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency, a neighbor of Tayman’s told the Oxford Police Department in April that he had done work at Tayman’s residence and saw 24 marijuana plants growing there. The neighbor said the number of plants increased during the time he worked, and that Tayman told him he intended to sell them.
Police later searched the basement and found 269 marijuana plants there.
Loper said a background check on Tayman determined that he was convicted in Maine on charges of receiving stolen property, theft, disorderly conduct, operating after habitual offender revocation, and operating after suspension between 1992 and 2008.
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