Lamp sent Eagan man's pot up in smoke, charges say

Updated: October 29, 2009 - 12:30 AM

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An Eagan man is facing drug charges after a lamp being used to grow marijuana started fire at his house, authorities say.

Ryan James Parranto, 31, was charged Friday in Dakota County District Court with two counts of fifth-degree controlled substance crime and a count of possessing drug paraphernalia. He is the owner of the town house, according to the criminal complaint.

In April, Eagan firefighters responding to a blaze in a four-unit town house called police after finding a marijuana grow operation in the unit where the fire started, the complaint said.

Officers also found several bags with marijuana stems, buds and leaves as well as equipment used to put together joints and Parranto's expired driver's license, according to the complaint. A Dakota County Drug Task Force agent found 107.7 grams of marijuana there.

When an officer talked to Parranto, he said that the marijuana was for his use, the complaint said. He said he was growing it himself because marijuana is very expensive and he was trying to cut expenses because of financial trouble since purchasing the town house, it also said.

A fire marshal later told police that a power inverted plugged into a grow lamp overheated the socket, causing the blaze, according to the complaint.

VINCE TUSS