A Monday morning house fire destroyed a River Road home, killed a family pet and resulted in one arrest after marijuana plants were found on the property.
Reports of a mobile home on fire were called in at around 8:30 a.m. for the above address, located a short distance from the River Road Volunteer Fire Department.
Personnel arrived at the scene to find the lone male occupant had escaped the blaze without injury.
Darrin Patrick Coppola, 59, of 1869 River Road, was taken into custody by the Monongalia County Sheriff’s Department on one charge of manufacturing a controlled substance after a deputy assisting fire personnel obtained a search warrant and located 17 marijuana plants and packaging materials, according to the criminal complaint.
According to the criminal complaint, when Deputy Martin arrived, firefighters indicated they saw drug paraphernalia and what they believed to be marijuana plants in the residence.
The complaint states multiple plants were observed in plain view during Martin’s investigation and a search warrant was obtained for the residence, the surrounding buildings on the property and one vehicle.
River Road Volunteer Fire Department Assistant Chief Mickey Rinehart said the home is a total loss and a dog was killed in the fire.
“At this time, we’re looking at it as being electrical,” he said. “We believe it was an overloaded circuit.”
If convicted, manufacture of a controlled substance is a felony carrying 1-15 years in jail and/or a fine of up to $25,000.
In addition to River Road, fire personnel from Westover, Cassville, Granville and Star City responded, as did Mon EMS and the Monongalia County Sheriff’s Department.
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