Fire-spotter plane starts ball rolling on big pot bust - August 16, 2002
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M/CLOUDY Temp: 42 °F Wind: CLM at 0 mph Friday, January 10, 2003 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend August 16, 2002 Fire-spotter plane starts ball rolling on big pot bust Working from the ground and from the air, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department late Thursday identified and then seized nearly $400,000 worth of marijuana planted in Bureau of Land Management forests. A spotter plane flying near West Fork Evans Creek Road identified the marijuana gardens growing in a clearing and partly under the forest canopy in northern Jackson County, according to sheriff’s deputy Rich Rullamas. Deputies set up video cameras to get the plants’ caretaker on film. Deputies arrested Mitchell Shane York — a 31-year-old transient — while he was watering the two patches of plants. York was lodged without bail in the Jackson County Jail on charges of possessing and manufacturing marijuana. There also were warrants charging him with resisting arrest, escape and probation violation. Deputies harvested 104 plants — ranging in size from 3 to 7 feet tall — from two one-acre parcels. They also seized approximately an ounce of dried marijuana. The marijuana bust was the first in several years for the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department, Rullamas said. Large marijuana gardens are becoming more scarce as growers plant numerous small plots to avoid their discovery, he said. Deputies first talked to York last month after they noticed a campsite in the area. York gave deputies a false name, which they discovered through DMV records did not belong to him. Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright 1997-2002 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy webmaster feedback A D V E R T I S E R S