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Aurora grow house owner claims ignorance, blames management company

Françoise Bergan, Ward 6 council member, is looking at amending city ordinances in hopes of deterring these operations.
Credit: KUSA

AURORA - Two Aurora homes owned by Mohinder Grover have been raided five times in two years by Aurora Police who have confiscated over a thousand illegally growing marijuana plants, guns and other drugs.

But Grover claims he never knew what his tenants were up to.

Since the most recent raid at one of his properties in southeast Aurora, the city has served Grover under a nuisance abatement ordinance. Despite the large, illegal grow operations, Grover has not committed any criminal offenses.

His tenants have. At least eight people have been arrested, some of them were charged with felonies but typically only receive probation. Françoise Bergan, Ward 6 council member, is looking at amending city ordinances in hopes of deterring these operations.

“There’s concerns about mold and any pesticides used in the property. And putting another resident in that property is concerning. So we want to see if we can do anything to re-inspect the property before it is rented out again,” Bergan said. “We are looking at what we can do to address landlords that are intentionally utilizing their residences for this illegal activity.”

Bergan said she was surprised to hear that police were unable to confiscate the equipment used on these grows. She’s working with council to potentially address that.

As for Grover, 9NEWS contacted his attorney who says Grover had no idea that the two properties he rents out were being used to illegally grow marijuana. He blames a management company he used for not properly vetting tenants in the five cases resulting in arrests.

While nothing has been signed, the attorney, Bill Jones, says Mohinder and the city have come to an agreement that would require the landlord to regularly check up on his properties to ensure there’s nothing illegal happening there. He says Mohinder has also amended his lease agreements to specifically prohibit use or cultivation of marijuana on the property.

“It brings a criminal element to the neighborhood. We don’t know what else the people that are in those homes are doing,” Bergan said. “It’s just concerning when you have children in the neighborhood exposed to possible criminal activity. It’s a dangerous situation for our residents.”

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