May 26, 2010 Former Miami cop accused of running marijuana grow house www.privateofficer.com
Adam Tavss, 35, was arrested about 10:30 p.m. Monday, according to a Miami-Dade police news release.
Narcotics detectives received a Crime Stoppers tip about a hydroponics laboratory at Tavss’ apartment in the 14000 block of Southwest 94th Circle Lane, the release said. Detectives got a search warrant and found a “fully operational clandestine marijuana laboratory containing 47 plants” valued at about $50,000, according to police.
Police charged Tavss with one count of selling, manufacturing and possessing cannabis and one count of owning or renting for the purposes of dealing controlled substances, according to Janelle Hall, a spokeswoman for Miami-Dade Corrections.
Hall said Tavss posted $10,000 bail about 3 a.m. Tuesday morning.
Tavss could not be reached for comment.
The former officer was once investigated by internal affairs after a colleague said he was using cocaine.
In September, he was suspended with pay after testing positive for marijuana. He resigned from the force two months later.
Last June, he was involved in two fatal, police-involved shootings.
In the first incident, Tavss shot and killed Husien Shehada on June 14 in front of Twist nightclub after police received reports that two men were carrying firearms on Washington Avenue.
Husien was with his brother, Samer. Neither was armed with a gun, but investigators believe the brothers were after a man who roughed up Samer earlier that night, and carried a coat hanger and bottle beneath their shirts to imply they had weapons.
Tavss was placed on leave, as is routine.
On June 18, he resumed active duty.
That night, he was one of two officers who fired shots at Lawrence McCoy, according to police.
Police said McCoy carjacked a taxi, drove the wrong way on the MacArthur Causeway, then crashed before engaging in a firefight with officers.
McCoy’s attorneys, however, say he was not armed and sources told The Miami Herald that an off-duty public service aide fired a gun at McCoy before Tavss and Officer Frank Celestre shot and killed him.
Police did not initially find a weapon. Days later, divers fished a gun out of Biscayne Bay.
Both shootings remain under investigation, according to a spokesman with the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office.
Officer Deborah Doty, a Miami Beach police spokeswoman, noted that Tavss no longer works for the department and said “it’s unfortunate he chose this path.”
“We have a lot of good people who work for our department,” she said. “We don’t want this to reflect on any of our officers.”
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