Police find pot-growing operation in home of Mpls. officer for Republican Party

A Republican Party officer in Minneapolis for a state Senate district has been charged with growing nearly two dozen marijuana plants in his Northeast home.

Mark S. Fox, 50, was charged this week in Hennepin County District Court with two felony drug counts in connection with police seizing 23 marijuana plants, nearly a pound of marijuana and several guns from his home in the 2700 block of NE. Pierce Street.

Fox was arrested Monday at his home, posted bond and was scheduled to appear in court Thursday afternoon.

Fox is currently the treasurer for the Republican Party's Senate District 60, which includes northeast Minneapolis, the University of Minnesota and other neighboring communities.

The GOP chair for that district, Kayla Fossen, said Fox's post and others in the district are being contested late this month during its convention.

Fossen said she is making sure that everyone attending the convention will be aware of Fox's legal troubles, should he seek to retain the post.

She said Fox has been "distancing himself for the past year" from his duties with the GOP's political operations in the Senate district.

A telephone message was left Thursday with Fox seeking his reaction to the allegations.

According to the charges:

While Fox was not there, police searched the home Monday and found the marijuana growing operation in the basement. Officers also located several baggies of marijuana in an office.

Also in the office was a bolt-action rifle, a .357-caliber revolver, ammunition and $4,700 in cash. A rifle was located in a bedroom. In the kitchen, officers found one-third of an ounce of hashish.

A biographical profile on the GOP's Senate District 60 website says that Fox has been a community organizer in Northeast for more than a decade, along with volunteering with the Audubon Neighborhood Association, the Northeast Citizen Patrol and the Northeast Lions.