the 05/14/2008

Naughty US teacher arrested for growing cannabis

 trimming machine Police said Wednesday they uncovered a commercial-style marijuana growing operation allegedly set up

by a local high school teacher and his close friend inside a rented storage unit. Teacher Jeff Burrell, 50, and Steven Laino,

46, face felony charges of marijuana cultivation, possession of marijuana, and maintaining a place for drug sales. Both have

been released on $30,000 bail from Mendocino County Jail. Ukiah Sgt. David McQueary said Laino on Monday told investigators

that because he and Burrell were in "deep financial debt," they agreed to set up the indoor marijuana growing operation, sell

the crops, and split any proceeds "50-50." McQueary said investigators were told Burrell allegedly put up $15,000 to buy

materials to build two marijuana grow rooms and a drying and processing area inside a rented storage unit on North State

Street. Laino provided the labor, said McQueary. Burrell's current teaching status with the 8,100-student district was not

known. Ukiah Unified School District administrators did not respond to calls Wednesday seeking comment. Burrell is a former

head coach of the Ukiah High School girls' basketball team. A local standout football and baseball player who graduated from

Humboldt State University, Burrell in 2006 was inducted into the Mendocino College Hall of Fame. McQueary said police and

agents from the county's Major Crimes Task Force raided the North State Street storage yard Monday after being tipped that

there was a commercial marijuana growing operation inside one of the units. Agents found a completely enclosed building had

been constructed inside the metal storage shed, said McQueary. Two growing rooms were furnished with lights, water

filtration, humidity, and cooling systems. A marijuana trimming machine typically used in larger pot-growing operations was

discovered in the processing area, said McQueary. City building inspectors "red tagged" the unit after agents found exposed

electrical wiring and multiple other building code violations. Repeated attempts to reach Burrell were unsuccessful. Burrell

and Laino's arrests are the latest in a string of high-profile marijuana cases that local authorities say underscore how

pervasive pot growing has become in the county. In January, a veteran Ukiah fire captain was arrested at her home for

marijuana cultivation, along with her son and another man. Sheriff deputies last November seized 39 pounds of dried pot from

the Redwood Valley home of the former budget and finance officer in the county's District Attorney's Office.