SCARSDALE, N.Y., June 5 (UPI) -- Police in Scarsdale, N.Y., said they arrested a divorced, suburban mom for allegedly growing pot worth millions of dollars out of a Queens warehouse.
Andrea Sanderlin, 45, a mother of two, was arrested Tuesday and was being held in a Brooklyn jail, the New York Daily News reported. She pleaded not guilty to a federal charge of conspiring to manufacture and distribute 1,000 or more pot plants.
Federal investigators said they were tipped off to Sanderlin's alleged involvement in a multimillion-dollar pot-growing operation when they noticed the warehouse where she allegedly ran a baby furniture business was using a large amount of electricity, CBS New York reported Tuesday.
After raiding the business, investigators said they found a "sophisticated operation to grow and process marijuana," including at least 1,000 plants, and lighting, irrigation and ventilation systems.
Lawyer Joel Winorad said the "full-time mother" of two daughters, ages 3 and 13, had no criminal record and should be released on bail..
"She's never been in trouble before," he said. "It's rare that you get a woman accused of running a grow house."
Sanderlin faces 10 years in jail if convicted, the Daily News said.
