Dave's Not Here, Man

A small house fire in Peterson resulted in a big drug bust. After extinguishing the fire on the first floor, firefighters went upstairs and discovered 130 marijuana plants and 10 pounds of dried marijuana.

Sun-Times article is here. Chicago Breaking News from WGN has coverage also.

What freaked me out is that this "sophisticated" marijuana operation was located only 2 blocks from a Jewish elementary school and 1 block from a Jewish high school! There's no evidence that indicates that the children were influenced by this home-grown pothead, but it's scary to think that the kids are going to school in a neighborhood where this is going on. It's more-or-less an upper middle-class area, and it surprises me that this was happening.

WBBM identified the suspect as Lan Luu-Nguyen.

You can see some video footage on the NBC site.

After you get over the shock, be sure to read some of the comments in the articles linked above. Some of my favorites:

• I'm sure this didn't mean what it sounded like: "Police remained on the scene long after the fire was put out, authorities said."
• And sales of Chili and Cheese Fritos in the neighborhood stores were up briskly this morning.
• I volunteer to help with the clean-up as soon as I stop to pick up some twinkies and doritos.
• Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...I forgot what I was going to say.
• Dave's not here, man.

My own take on it:
Firefighters were immediately suspicious when they arrived on the scene. Rather than pleading with them to save his children or pets, the homeowner was shouting "Save the plants! Save the plants!"