"Grow Op" Granny

[skippy]

Granny takes the rap for thug 'soulmate's' grow op

By DEAN PRITCHARD, SUN MEDIA

A Winnipeg woman who claimed her new boyfriend threatened to break her grandson's arm if she told anyone about the marijuana growing in her basement was granted an 18-month conditional sentence yesterday.

Aurora Semko, 58, pleaded guilty in court to one count of production of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking.

Semko was arrested in September 2005 after police executed a search warrant at her Giroux Street bungalow and found 800 marijuana plants in the basement.

Semko had moved into the home six months earlier with a man she thought was her "soulmate" only to discover a short time later he had started setting up a grow-op, defence lawyer Mike Cook said.

When Semko made a move to dismantle the growing equipment, the man grabbed her by the hair and said if she ever told anybody, "bad things would happen to her and her family," Cook said.

"He indicated if she told anyone, her grandson's arm would be broken."
When the woman's dog disappeared sometime later, the man told her:

"You saw how easy it was to take a dog -- other things can disappear too," Cook said.

Semko would not identify the man by name. When arrested, Semko told police:

"Yeah, there is one more person responsible besides me, but people are going to get hurt if I tell you who," Crown attorney Ian Mahon told court.

Cook said Semko was under duress to comply with her boyfriend's demands. He said Semko had no role in caring for the plants.

"But at the end of the day, we acknowledge there are things she could have done," such as moving out or placing an anonymous call to police, Cook said. Justice Lori Spivak ordered Semko to observe a nightly curfew and complete 200 hours community service work.