An Altamonte Springs police officer accused of setting up a marijuana grow house and owning an arsenal of handguns, rifles and shotguns to defend it pleaded guilty Friday in Orlando federal court.
Clay Adams, 36, who lives near Altamonte Springs, will likely be sentenced to at least 15 years in prison. He pleaded guilty to five federal charges, including conspiring with his wife to grow 2,200 pounds of marijuana.
Adams and his wife, Robyn, 32, were arrested July 21, hours after rigging a house in Chuluota with hydroponic equipment and grow lights and getting marijuana seeds to sprout, according to his plea agreement.
Both husband and wife confessed.
At a separate hearing Friday, a tearful Robyn Adams pleaded guilty to two charges: conspiracy and a weapons count. She likely will face at least 10 years in prison.
Shortly after the hearings, the Altamonte Springs Police Department reported it would fire Adams, a nine-year employee.
Part of that time, he was assigned to Seminole County's narcotics squad. He used the computer in his patrol car to download information about the county's drug agents -- including their photos -- and handed it to a convicted felon, a supposed partner in the grow operation.
That partner, though, went to police and wound up wearing a recording device to gather evidence against the Adamses.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Bodnar Jr. said there was no evidence any other police officers were involved in the operation.
He also said that despite initial allegations, the Adamses had one -- not two -- grow houses.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/orl-sl-pot-police-officer-101008,0,7879202.story
