Bail set for alleged pot growers

SANDPOINT — A Priest River couple was formally charged Thursday with marijuana trafficking, a day after drug agents raided their home and discovered a sophisticated growing operation.

Judge Barbara Buchanan set bail at $20,000 for Ernie Enlow Bryant and $500 for Kathy J. Roberts during a brief hearing in magistrate court.

Bryant, 64, and Roberts, 42, were arrested at their Eastside Road residence after Sundance Drug Task Force and U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency agents searched a garage and found more 279 plants flourishing in secret grow rooms under the building, according to court records.

The grow rooms were fitted with advanced lighting, ventilation and watering systems. Sundance officials say it was one of the most technologically advanced operations they had seen.

The operation came to light because of information gleaned from an investigation into another bust on Eastside Road in November, a Sundance agent said during a probable cause hearing. The amount of electricity being consumed at 10997 Eastside Road also caught the attention of authorities.

another sophisticated growing operation was shut down in November,