According to the Otsego County Sheriff’s Office, James E. Meyers, 47, of 402 Pink St, was arrested at his residence after the execution of a search warrant obtained following a three-week investigation.

Law enforcement personnel from the Otsego County Sheriff’s Office, Oneonta Police Department Detective Bureau, Cooperstown Police Department, NYS Division of Parole and the Capital District Drug Enforcement Task Force from Albany participated in the search. Officers seized two-and-a-half pounds of marihuana and 13 marihuana plants during the search.

The warrant was executed at about 7 a.m., Sheriff Richard Devlin Jr. said Monday afternoon.

"He was fully cooperative," Devlin said.

The plants were being grown in the ground at various locations on Myers’ property, Devlin said.

Devlin would not say how law enforcement became aware of the pot crop.

"We obtained information through an investigation," Devlin said. "We have numerous drug investigations that are ongoing."

The two-and-a-half pounds of marijuana seized during the search led to the felony possession charge. Investigators don’t believe Myers was distributing the marijuana.

"He claims it’s for his own use," Devlin said.

Meyers, the director of Bassett Hospital’s respiratory therapy department, was charged with criminal possession of marihuana in the second degree, a felony, and unlawfully cultivating cannabis under the NYS Public Health Law, a misdemeanor.

He was arraigned by Town of Otego Judge James F. Wolff and released after posting $3,500 bail. He is to reappear at 1 p.m. in the Town of Otsego Court on Thursday, Sept. 20.