A 25-year-old man was jailed Wednesday after about 1,100 marijuana plants were seized from his home in a neatly manicured, middle-class Richardson neighborhood.

Richardson police Lt. Mike Scott described the growing operation at 1201 La Mesa Drive as unsophisticated but "one of the largest I've seen."

Brett Lachance was arrested on a charge of possession of marijuana, less than five pounds, a state jail felony. He was being held at the Richardson City Jail in lieu of $3,000 bail.

The investigation began unfolding late Tuesday morning, when police received a call from a neighbor about a suspicious person. Police saw an open window and a broken lock, so they entered the house. After smelling a strong odor of marijuana and seeing the plants, they obtained a search warrant, Lt. Scott said.

Police seized the plants and lighting equipment used to grow them in two upstairs bedrooms.

Mr. Lachance was arrested when he returned home later in the day. He was charged with possession of less than five pounds based on the leaves' weight, Lt. Scott said.

Neighbors said Mr. Lachance moved into the 2,300-square-foot home about three months ago. Lt. Scott said it appeared he did not live there regularly, and it was unclear whether other people were involved in the marijuana operation.

On Wednesday morning, men from a lawn service were mowing and edging the front yard.

Barbara Ball, who lives across the street, said the home's next-door neighbor told her that he saw an unfamiliar vehicle in the alley around 11 a.m. Tuesday. When he approached, the car fled, so he called police because he thought the home was being burglarized, she said.

"They really picked the wrong neighborhood to do this because we really watch out to what's going on," Ms. Ball said.

The neighborhood near Coit and Arapaho roads is inhabited mostly by older residents and a few younger families. Mr. Lachance's home is valued at $185,000 by the Dallas Central Appraisal District

Ms. Ball said she heard from police that the doors to the two bedrooms where the drugs were found had been padlocked and that the house had been "destroyed."

Ms. Ball said residents long had been suspicious: The home's occupants came and went only at late hours; they apparently never moved in furniture; and their upstairs window would glow at night from what looked like a heat lamp.

"The whole neighborhood was aware something was going on," she said. "They weren't the type of people to talk. They would wave, say hi, but that's it."

Still, the mother of two teens said, the discovery was shocking.

"It was awful. We had to tell our children that something illegal was going on," Ms. Ball said. "We had to tell them never to approach the men."