Waukesha Man Accused of Indoor Marijuana Grow Operation

A 20-year-old Waukesha man is facing two felony charges for allegedly growing more than 50 marijuana plants in his home.

Jason A. Kadinger was charged in Waukesha County Circuit Court Thursday with one count of manufacturing and delivery of THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, and one count of maintain a drug trafficking place. If convicted, he faces up to 16 years in prison and $35,000 in fines.

According to the criminal complaint:

On Dec. 16, two undercover officers went to Kadinger’s home in the 300 block of Douglass Avenue after they received a tip he was growing marijuana indoors and energy usage records to his house was double that of comparable houses.

Officers made contact with Kadinger, who then gave them consent to search his house and told them he had 15 marijuana plants upstairs he had grown for personal use. While interviewing Kadinger, the complaint states one of the officers noticed a small bed, television and small tables in the living room, along with empty gallon-sized plastic baggies, one of which contained 16 grams of high-grade marijuana.

Kadinger then took officers to the upstairs of the residence to an area he called the “flowering room,” which contained a large framework made out of PVC pipe and heavy gauge plastic, which contained several 12-inch-tall marijuana plants in a plastic buckets. The framework also had a silver air duct affixed to it leading to an open window.

Kadinger then pointed out a nearby closet he called the “vegetative room” to provide light 24 hours per day to plants, which contained numerous plants.     

He then led investigators to a second bedroom, which contained another structure similar to the one in the flowering room.

A total of 36 small plants were confiscated from the vegetative room and 20 plants were confiscated from the two flowering rooms.

Kadinger was cooperative with officers and even helped them deconstruct the grow operation to help them save time. Kadinger told the officers he was growing the marijuana for personal use and after finding out the consequences told investigators he regretted it, saying his should concentrate on his career instead.

Kadinger will make his initial appearance in circuit court April 13.