Second Hillsborough Man Accused of Growing Pot in His Yard

A second Hillsborough man has been arrested in less than a week for growing a large amount of marijuana plants on his property, the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office said.

Steve Spitzlei, 52, was charged with second-degree manufacturing marijuana and was released on his own recognizance.

Authorities on Saturday found 27 marijuana plants with a street value of approximately $81,000 on Spitzlei's Hockenbury Road property, according to a statement released Tuesday by Somerset County Prosecutor Geoffrey D. Soriano, Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Acting Chief of Detectives Timothy Fitzgerald and Hillsborough Township Chief of Police Paul A. Kaminsky.

Soriano said detectives assigned to the Task Force and Hillsborough police went to Spitzlei's residence Saturday and he consented to the search of his property.

Spitzlei was the second Hillsborough resident arrested last week for allegedly manufacturing marijuana after police investigated information from the New Jersey State Police Marijuana Eradication Unit.

Rick Rivella was charged on Friday after authorities discovered 145 marijuana plants worth $435,000 growing on his Roycefield Road property, the prosecutor's office said.