MARIETTA, Ga. -- Police are searching for a man accused of running a marijuana grow house in Marietta.

Jessie Lee Jr., 37, is also wanted for abusing a young child.

Marietta police and DFCS officers responded Nov. 18 to a house in the 1300 block of Banberry Road after receiving a tip about possible child abuse. When they arrived, they smelled a strong odor of marijuana and secured a search warrant for the property.

Marietta Police Officer David Auld said investigators recovered 300 marijuana plants and a handgun from the house.

Lee, who is originally from Mississippi, was not home when police arrived and is still on the run. He is described as black, 5 feet 11 inches tall and 250 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. He wears a patch over his left eye.

Lee may be driving a red 1990 Ford Mustang with Georgia license plate BVV 9630.

MARIETTA, Ga. -- Two men were arrested for participating in what Marietta police call "an organized shoplifting ring."

Christopher Higgins and John Stiltz, both 31, were taken into custody after reportedly shoplifting from the Walmart in the 1700 block of Cobb Parkway.

Stiltz was arrested Oct. 15 while driving the suspected getaway car, a green Volkswagen Jetta, according to Marietta police spokesman David Baldwin. Higgins was taken into custody Oct. 21 inside the Target in the 2200 block of Cobb Parkway.

Baldwin said the two suspects are accused of shoplifting from both the Walmart and Target several times between Oct. 11 and 15, and pawning the stolen items at area pawn shops.

Both suspects have been charged with shoplifting and theft by deception. Additional charges are possible.

MARIETTA, Ga. -- Two former City of Marietta employees are among four people charged with stealing from the federal Housing Choice Voucher Program.

The program, also known as Section 8, helps low-income families pay their rent. Shantel Bowens and Debbie Bailey worked for Marietta's Housing Choice Voucher Program, which oversees local tenant and landlord participation.

Bowens and Bailey pleaded guilty in July and May, respectively, to conspiring with two landlords to steal money from the program.

According to federal prosecutors, Bowens, 43, of Atlanta, reactivated the closed accounts of former Section 8 tenants. She then altered computer records to link the tenants to two co-defendants, landlords Babatunde "Babs" Abass and Tunji "Chris" Imoukhuede.