Gregory Scott pleads not guilty to cultivating marijuana, 200 plants found inside warehouse

CLEVELAND - The man at the center of a huge marijuana bust inside a Cleveland warehouse appeared in court, waiving his right to a preliminary hearing.

Bond was set at $15,000 for Gregory Scott, 31, in Cleveland Municipal Court. His case will now be bound over to a grand jury.

Police confiscated about 200 marijuana plants and drug equipment in a warehouse at 2432 Lakeside Ave. early Tuesday.

"The operation is sophisticated and appears to have been going on for quite some time," said Cleveland Police Lt. Barrow on Tuesday, who added that the street value of the drugs would be "thousands of dollars."

Police received a call early Tuesday morning that there was an open door to the warehouse. When they arrived at the scene, they detected a strong odor of marijuana.

Bassichis Real Estate owns the building that housed the pot. The company, which owns other commercial properties in the area, could not be reached for comment.

According to public records, three residents rent the warehouse where the pot was discovered. But two names appear to be fictitious. One listed is a character on the HBO show "The Wire," and the other is a slang term for a cigarette and weed combination joint.

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A correction to this story was made at 12:55 p.m. after learning we erroneously reported Scott pleaded guilty.