Hawaii Police Department
Vice Section, Area I
Lieutenant Samuel Jelsma
Phone: 961-2253
September 6, 2007
Report No. C07028637

(Select photo for larger image.)

Robert Petricci		Sara Steiner

…arrested for commercial promotion of marijuana

Media Release

Hawaii County police arrested and charged a Puna couple after police officers executed a search warrant on a 10-acre property located on Pohoiki Road in the Puna District on Tuesday (September 4).

The suspects were identified as 51-year-old Robert Petricci and 45-year-old Sara Steiner of Pohoiki.

Vice officers executed a search warrant on their property at 7:20 am Tuesday and discovered four separate "indoor grow" operations complete with grow lights and blowers.  Two growing operations were set up in shipping containers, one in a barn and another in a green house. Police recovered 630 marijuana plants ranging in height from 6 inches to 4 feet, along with two rifles and eight-and-a-half pounds of dried processed marijuana.

Police arrested Petricci and Steiner, along with two men found on the property at the time the warrant was served. The two men were later released pending further investigation.

Upon conferring with prosecutors, Petricci and Steiner were each charged Wednesday with four counts of commercial promotion of marijuana and other drug charges. Petricci’s bail was set at $53,000. Steiner’s bail was set at $26,000.  Both remained at the Hilo Police Cellblock unable to post bail.