Police said 13 illegal plants and more than five pounds of marijuana were seized along with extensive equipment and $1,500 in currency during the investigation of an alleged marijuana growing operation at a Clinton Township home in 2015.

SAXONBURG — A Clinton Township couple faces hearings next week stemming from the discovery of an alleged marijuana growing operation at their home in 2015.

Thirteen illegal plants and more than five pounds of marijuana were seized along with extensive equipment and $1,500 in currency during the investigation, according to the Butler County Drug Task Force.

William E. McIntyre, 68, and Barbara Ann Witzel, 60, are both charged with felony and misdemeanor drug possession. They are free on $10,000 unsecured bail each.

A tip about marijuana growing at the defendants' Monks Road home led task force officers there on Oct. 5, 2015, court documents said. Officers said they could smell the odor of marijuana as soon as they got to the front door.

Witzel was the only one home and she let the officers inside. They immediately noticed a small amount of marijuana and drug paraphernalia in the house, police said.

A consent search eventually turned up an alleged grow room with two hydroponic shelters that contained 12 marijuana plants growing in buckets, documents said. Also in the room were electronic timers connected to five sets of artificial lighting and two power inverters.

In a third-floor office, the task force said, officers found another marijuana plant and a pair of five-gallon buckets that held “large amounts of dried marijuana.”

Additionally, the task force said it seized two “large plastic bags containing large amounts of marijuana” during the search.Throughout the home, officers said, they found small amounts of marijuana in bottles, jars and bags, as well as smoking pipes, grinders, an electronic scale and $1,500 worth of currency.In all, documents said, the confiscated marijuana weighed 2,625.18 grams, or 5.79 pounds.District Judge Sue Haggerty arraigned McIntyre and Witzel on felony charges of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance and conspiracy, and misdemeanor charges of possession of a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia.Preliminary hearings for the defendants are set for Wednesday at Haggerty's office in Saxonburg.Documents did not indicate why it took so long for authorities to file charges.

Marijuana grow operation bust in Clinton Township in 2015.