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Officials: Deltona power outage caused by marijuana grow house

DELTONA, Fla. — A marijuana grow house was discovered when the power went out in a Deltona neighborhood on Sunday, authorities said.

The illegal growing operation was revealed after a transformer fuse on a utility pole had blown, blacking out some homes on Red Fox Drive, officials said.

Power company technicians said the replacement fuse blew moments after installation, which led to a small fire in a home's meter box and the discovery of extra wires that were illegally taking more electricity than a typical house needed.

Volusia County Sheriff's deputies said they discovered that it wasn't a family home, but a marijuana grow house with dozens of plants, specialty lights and air-conditioning units.

About 70 plants were confiscated.

Authorities said Ramon Munoz-Rodriguez, 43, had tried to dispose of the plants by throwing them over the backyard fence.

Deputies said they arrested Munoz-Rodriguez on several narcotics charges and booked him into the Volusia County Branch Jail in Daytona Beach.