Deputies find 144 pot plants growing in Dover garage

Three men were arrested after the Hillsborough County sheriff's narcotics team said it found $1.5-million worth of marijuana in the garage of a Dover house.

Alfredo Rijo, 44, of 14607 Walden Sheffield Road in Dover, Wilmer Viamontes, 39, of Cape Coral and Eric Reinoso, 38, of Fort Myers Beach, were charged Tuesday with trafficking in marijuana and cultivation of marijuana.

Rijo also faces a charge for theft of electricity, while Viamontes and Reinoso face additional charges of possession of paraphernalia.

Deputies say the garage in Rijo's home, which contained 144 marijuana plants weighing 441.2 pounds and indoor grow equipment, "was converted for the sole purpose to cultivate marijuana." Deputies also seized a 2002 Ford pickup truck.