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Mass. man has more than 50 pot plants in car

Arrested for DWI, manufacturing a controlled drug, open container and transportation of a controlled drug

By Ben Leubsdorf
Concord Monitor

BOSCAWEN, Mass. — A Massachusetts man was arrested Monday night in Boscawen with 51 marijuana plants crammed into his 2009 Toyota Yaris subcompact, the police said.

Edouard Starbuck, 54, of Hyannis, Mass., was charged with DWI, two counts of manufacturing a controlled drug, one count of transporting a controlled drug and having an open container of alcohol, said Boscawen police Chief Sean Sweeney.

Starbuck has four previous convictions for driving while intoxicated and six previous convictions on drug charges, mostly in Massachusetts, Sweeney said.

He was arraigned yesterday and is being held in jail on $50,000 cash bail, the police said. Sweeney said Starbuck requested a public defender.

A probable-cause hearing in Franklin District Court is scheduled for June 4.

Boscawen police officers stopped Starbuck around 9:30 p.m. Monday for not having working tail lights, Sweeney said. They found 51 plants in an early stage of growth in his car, along with fertilizer, heat lamps and other equipment used for growing.

Starbuck refused a breath test, Sweeney said, but appeared impaired and was arrested.

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