6 Arrested In Pot Bust

6 arrested in pot bust
By John Barton
HOWELL - Six men, including an Ypsilanti resident, were arraigned in court here Friday following their arrests by undercover narcotics detectives who seized 1,100 pounds of marijuana with an estimated street value of $440,000.
Four of the men were arrested immediately on Thursday after undercover officers from the Oakland County Narcotic Enforcement Team paid $62,000 for 200 pounds of marijuana. The fifth man eluded officers at the scene of the transaction - a house at 109 Knollwood in Pinckney - but was arrested by Ann Arbor Police detectives a short time later when he drove up to a motel near the I-94 expressway.
In addition to the 200 pounds of marijuana purchased by police, the raiding party seized 900 more pounds that was found in a van parked in a garage at the Pinckney residence, police said. Participating in the raid were officers from the Pinckney Police Department, the Oakland County narcotics unit and the Livingston and Washtenaw Narcotics Enforcement Team (formerly known as WANT).
According to a police spokesman, undercover officers met one of the suspects in Redford Township on Jan. 27 and struck a bargain to buy 200 pounds of pot.
The deal was delayed by two snowstorms, but officers finally met the suspects in Pinckney on Thursday.
“We believe the marijuana was brought to Michigan from Florida around the first of February." a LAWNET officer said, "and it appears the people were hampered in their efforts to dispose of it by the two consecutive snowstorms.
"They were anxious to do business to the point of carelessness."
The spokesman said undercover officers paid $350 a pound for marijuana with an estimated street value of $400 a pound.
All six men appeared in 53rd District Court for arraignment and are being held in the Livingston County Jail.
Arrested and charged with counts of conspiracy and delivery of marijuana were Thomas A. Klecha Jr., 25, of 436 W. Michigan Ave., Ypsilanti; John J. O'Neil, 26, Marco Island, Fla.; Keith W. Popour, 25, of 109 Knollwood Pinckney; and a man known only as “Jeff," last name, age and address unknown.
In addition, police said a man identified as Donald B. Clark, 19. of Taylor, was armed with a .22 caliber pistol at the of his arrest and he was charged with possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.
The man arrested in Ann Arbor was identified as John K. Mack Jr., 34, of Marco Island, Fla. Mack was turned over to Livingston County authorities and charged with conspiracy and delivery of marijuana.