Columbia, South Carolina (WACH) -Kurt Steffen, 30, of Summerville pled guilty today in federal court in Charleston to manufacturing and possessing with intent to distribute 100 or more marijuana plants.

US District Judge C. Weston Houck plans to sentence Steffen at a later date.
       
Evidence presented at the change of plea hearing established that Steffen was part of a large scale indoor marijuana growing operation while employed as a state trooper with the South Carolina Highway Patrol.  Steffen was hired by the South Carolina Highway Patrol in May 2007 and graduated from the South Carolina Police Academy in November 2007.  Some time thereafter, Steffen, along with others, decided to begin a large scale marijuana growing operation in order to make more money.  Steffen purchased 300 Stable Lane, a five-acre tract of land in Ridgeville, SC, in May 2008, which would serve as the location for the marijuana grow. 
     
Prior to the grow being discovered by the Dorchester County Metro Narcotics Unit  in January 2010, the operation  yielded multiple harvests of marijuana for Steffen and his co-defendants, resulting in thousands of dollars worth of profit for the group.  When deputies executed a search warrant on the property in January 2010, they found thousands of dollars worth of equipment and over 300 marijuana plants spread throughout three different structures on the property.
       
During his change of plea hearing, Steffen specifically admitted to transporting marijuana in his South Carolina Highway Patrol vehicle.  He also agreed to forfeit his interest in 300 Stable Lane to the federal government. 

Steffen is facing 5-40 years imprisonment and/or a fine of $5,000,000, to be followed by a minimum of 4 years supervised release. 

The case was investigated by agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office, and the Summerville Police Department.