Getting rescued proved to be a mixed blessing for a Cambridge man with an illegal home business.
After fire broke out in the semi-detached house next door this summer, police found Randy Pereira sleeping in his bed and hustled him outside.
While they were at it, however, officers also stumbled on a substantial marijuana growing operation in his Fourth Avenue home.
Safe and sound, but caught red-handed, Pereira now faces a possible jail term for producing marijuana and possession of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking.
Kitchener court was told Tuesday that police seized more than 350 plants at various stages of growth, along with cash, dried marijuana and growing equipment.
The grow-op was discovered when emergency crews were called to the fire shortly after 6 a.m. one morning in July.
Federal prosecutor Richard Prendiville said emergency personnel were concerned the extensive blaze would spread to Pereira's adjacent unit.
There was a car in his driveway, but no one answered their knock at the door, so police forced their way in to do a search for occupants.
After rousing Pereira and spotting evidence of the grow-op in two rooms and a tent, officers later returned with a search warrant.
Pereira, who had no record before pleading guilty Tuesday, admitted to police in an interview that he had been growing marijuana to make money.
Two elderly residents were seriously injured in the fire, which had no connection to the grow-op next door.
Clean-cut and wearing a dark suit for his court appearance, Pereira, 33, is scheduled to return for sentencing in February.
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