Private landowner unaware; no arrests; Bend native dies helping remove pot plants

By Nina Mehlhaf and Barney Lerten, KTVZ.COM

A multi-agency law enforcement team seized and destroyed more than 14,500 marijuana plants with an estimated wholesale street value of about $50 million during a raid on private land in the Ochoco Mountains north of Prineville last week, authorities announced Monday.

Local, state and federal law enforcement areas converged on the Stephenson Mountain area of Jefferson County last Wednesday to eradicate the marijuana "garden," said Lt. John Gautney of the Central Oregon Drug Enforcement Team.

No arrests were made, but detectives also seized three firearms that had been left behind by those tending the grow, which Gautney said was the largest such raid in the region he was aware of.

"The destruction of this marijuana garden has caused a substantial setback to the drug trafficking organization that was operating (there)," Gautney said in a news release.

At the current street wholesale value per pound, and if at maturity each plant produced a pound of marijuana, the street wholesale value of the operation would have grossed about $50 million, the lieutenant said.

The CODE Team in early August got a tip from a hunter scouting in the area who discovered the active marijuana grow, Gautney said.

Due to archery season starting soon, and the area being popular with hunters, Gautney said authorities decided "it was urgent that the garden be eradicated as soon as possible, to protect the public from the possible dangers of an armed encounter with the garden tenders."

The multi-agency force assembled on the evening of Aug. 18, and early the next morning, a tactical team entered the area and secured the location, encountering no one, Gautney said.

Once it was secure, an eradication team moved in to process the area for evidence and remove the plants, which "were later airlifted to a safe location and destroyed," Gautney wrote.

Among agencies directly or indirectly involved in the operation: Central Oregon's Emergency Response Team (SWAT Team), Jefferson, Deschutes and Crook County sheriff's offices, Crook County Sheriff's Search and Rescue, Bend and Prineville police, the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management, and Oregon State Police.

The private landowner "had no knowledge the marijuana grow was on his property, due to the remote location," and "was in complete cooperation with law enforcement throughout this investigation," Gautney said.

The marijuana-grow tenders "caused a substantial amount of environment damage" at the grow site, including a lot of trash strewn around the area, damaged to a spring they had converted to use as a water source for the plants, and fertilizers and pesticides left in the area, Gautney added.

The drug agent called it "extremely important, especially during this time of year," that people recreating on public or private land be aware of their surroundings, especially in remote areas.

If you come across anything unusual, like lived-in camps, water lines running through the forest, trash dumps or anything that seems out of place to you - such as marijuana plants - mark the location with GPS, if possible, and leave right away, notifying the closest law enforcement agency to report what you've found, Gautney said.

"Most importantly, do not confront persons you may encounter in a marijuana garden," Gautney said, as it's increasingly likely the garden tenders will be armed and use force to protect the marijuana crop.

The CODE Team has seen a steady increase over the past three years in the number of outdoor marijuana grows around the region, on or near public lands, Gautney said. Last year's total plant seizures topped 2007, and already in 2009, there have been more plants seized than in all of last year.

Anyone with information about illegal drug activity, including marijuana grows, is urged to contact the CODE Team at (541) 312-6414 during business hours, or call local police.

Bend native killed by falling tree during pot-grow raid

The grows and the raids are getting more frequent - and danger lurks, in a variety of ways.

While assisting with a large raid last week in Baker County, a Forest Service worker and Bend native was killed by a falling tree.

Steven Uptegrove, 52, worked here for the Deschutes National Forest for years back in the 1980s. He was a Bend High School graduate, and his parents and sister live in town.

His parents tell NewsChannel 21 Uptegrove worked for the Forest Service for the past 33 years and loved the outdoors.

He was killed Thursday when a tree snag fell on top of him while helping a Baker County drug team get rid of over 2,000 marijuana plants in a wooded area.

Uptegrove leaves behind his wife in Prairie City and family here in Bend. A memorial service is set for Thursday in Prairie City and another is scheduled for Bend, but so far, no date has been set.

It's these kind of huge pot grows that are proving even more dangerous.

As Mexican cartels are moving their operations to the U.S., they're armed with guns and protect their grows to the end.

"It takes a ton of drugs off the street, and it really cripples and organization when you take that much money out of it," said CODE Team drug agent Rob Emerson.

CODE says the growers who plant outdoors are at a very different level and with a different purpose then those who rent or buy homes and set up grows indoors, as they are more likely to sell locally.