Plants seized during a search of Okeechobee County grow house.

The 34 plants were discovered during a Tuesday afternoon search of a prefabricated home suspected to have been converted into a grow house, sheriff’s spokesman Ted Van Deman said.

The home, located at 17601 NW 288th Street, is located in the Viking Properties subdivision, a rural area in the northern part of the county. Two rooms on the second floor were both converted into a grow house operation – complete with grow lights, air conditioners and an irrigation system, Van Deman said.

Authorities also found a shotgun and a rifle inside the home, Van Deman said. The house was unoccupied at the time of the search. The matter is still under investigation and charges are expected, Van Deman said.

The plants’ estimated value was $388,600.

Brad Cardell Boswell

Brad Cardell Boswell and Hugo Fernando Lopez- Martinez were arrested that afternoon when they were found in Highlands County trying to nab a get-away car, according to Okeechobee Sheriff’s officials.

Hugo Fernando Lopez-Martinez

Boswell, 27, and Lopez-Martinez, 18, then entered the home and demanded drugs and money from a woman living there, sheriff’s officials said. Once inside, one of the men also shot a pet pit bull, officials said.

With the drugs and money, the pair fled from the back door and drove off in the woman’s sports utility vehicle, officials said.

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