Sebastian Zea plead guilty to misdemeanor possession of more than 1/2 ounce and less than 1 1/2 ounces of marijuana Monday in Bladen County Superior Court under a plea agreement with the state that stemmed from a marijuana growing operation found in Kelly in October 2015.
Zea, 23, received a 120 day suspended sentence and 24 months supervised probation from Senior Superior Court Judge Douglas B. Sasser under the agreement.
In court statements and information released previously from the Bladen County Sheriff’s Office, members of the Narcotics Unit went to a mobile home on the 4000 block of N.C. 11 in Kelly on Oct. 6 after a neighbor called with suspicions about the residence. When someone answered the front door, officers could smell a strong odor of marijuana. The officers then noticed smoke coming from the backyard, which was marijuana being burned. Ciara Gutierrez consented to a search of her home. Officers seized 13.6 pounds of marijuana along with six firearms and all equipment used for an indoor marijuana-growing operation.
Gutierrez and co-defendant Daniel Giraldo each were sentenced to probation in March under plea agreements with the state.
Zea and Gutierrez no longer live in Bladen County. Giraldo was visiting at the home at the time of the arrest.
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