Authorities have arrested three suspects accused of stealing cannabis and equipment from at least 16 licensed marijuana farms and storage facilities in Jackson and Josephine counties over the last year.
Growers in the region have long been a target of crime, said Aaron Lewis with the Jackson County Sheriff鈥檚 Office. But, he explained, the issue can now be more in the open since Oregon legalized marijuana in 2015.
鈥淏efore marijuana was legalized鈥� the illegal places were getting burglarized quite often,鈥� said Lewis. 鈥淣ow that they're licensed, they can at least feel more comfortable about calling the police, and we can start these investigations.鈥�
He said the thefts are at least partially crimes of opportunity.
鈥淚 think part of the problem is, a lot of these locations are in the rural parts of our community and so someone can cut a hole in the fence and climb in and steal whatever they are looking for without a lot of people seeing them,鈥� said Lewis.
He said those arrested likely aren鈥檛 the only ones who are active in the area. Also, the number of businesses that were targeted by the suspects is probably higher than 16, due to unreported robberies at illegal farms. Lewis recommends that those growing marijuana illegally get licensed so they can feel more comfortable reporting crimes.
Footage from security cameras helped in identifying the suspects during the yearlong investigation.
Police found eight firearms and over 500 pounds of marijuana while serving search warrants in Center Point and Gold Hill. The suspects 鈥� Mitchell Jeffrey King, Dylan Buck McNerney and Kenneth Alan Parker 鈥� face a total of 65 charges. The case has been handed over to the Jackson County District Attorney鈥檚 Office for prosecution.
