The bust also prompted reporter Joel Warner to ask the DEA what would happen to the 224 plants confiscated from Bartkowicz's home. The answer: The agency's policy is to hold onto a small quantity of the bounty for testing to prove that it's actually marijuana; the rest is then incinerated once an official destruction order is obtained.
But some of Bartkowicz's stock will avoid immediate blazing, thanks to a judge's ruling earlier today.
According to 9News, Bartkowicz's attorney, Joseph Saint-Veltri, asked that the court require the DEA to preserve the plants taken from his client's home.
In response, the DEA displayed a seized plant, which reportedly "had its root system and appeared wilted but not dried."
Nonetheless, Saint-Veltri deemed the marijuana too far gone to be "maintained" in a healthy state -- something DEA spokesman Mike Turner characterized to Warner as a big pain in the neck. But he asked that some of the plants be retained for later testing. The judge agreed, and a DEA spokesman told 9News the agency will comply with the order to keep ten plants and ten clones on hand.
Which will presumably give the DEA property room a fragrant aroma for quite some time to come.
