Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. Nicole Rensenbrink, a social worker who is married to the local veterinarian, has lived in Josephine county since 1983 and laments how much it has changed in recent years, describing the endless ugliness that the huge influx of cannabis farms has brought to our valley. WebCave Junction, Oregon Home Page | Cave Junction, Oregon Alert Wildfire Camera Cave Junction Oregon City Hall Welcome City Council Meeting Videos Agendas & Minutes Boards and Commissions State of the City Address City Code Departments City Recorder Municipal Court Planning Public Safety Wastewater Treatment Plant Water Treatment Plant But last year, wildfires swept through the region, immolating the nearby towns of Phoenix and Talent. FBI agents arrested Douglas outside a convenience store in Cave Junction on Thursday, September 20, 2018, without incident. Theres farms where there were young children living in what someone referred to as squalor. They human-traffic. How many plants are you growing? One man says theyre from Serbia and claims they have a license to grow as another truck pulls up. Glenn and Evans-West were also charged with a probation violation. Compare Cave Junction crime data to other cities, states, and neighborhoods in the U.S. on NeighborhoodScout. 32-year-old Lauren Siegel was arrested for unlawful possession of marijuana and unlawful manufacturing of marijuana. WebJOSEPHINE COUNTY, Ore. Were learning more about an officer-involved shooting that left two people dead in Cave Junction. There is more crime than I'd like in this area. Hundreds of trees Jerry planted over the years have started to die off due to a lack of water.Im really discouraged because this year the creek went dry two months earlier than its ever gone dry during the all years that Ive been here, Jerry says. According to the Douglas County Sheriff's Office, on Thursday, February 23, 2023, shortly before 8:00 am, 9-1-1 was informed of a single vehicle in the river following a crash near Brockway Road and Willis Creek Road. Crime Map. Photograph: Mason Trinca/The Guardian, Somethings not right in southern Oregon: alarm at rise of illegal pot farms, Felisa Rogers, with photographs by Mason Trinca. He points out a cluster of greenhouses surrounded by piles of trash, and the hillside above, which has been terraced and entirely stripped of vegetation. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. The community is upside down., Jackson and Douglas counties declared a state of emergency in October and asked Governor Kate Brown for state funding for more enforcement personnel because local authorities are overwhelmed. The abuse of workers, environmental degradation and threats of violence towards locals have pushed some residents who have historically been skeptical of federal drug enforcement to ask for exactly that. The Moehring is the second suspect arrested in the case. Click here to find out how. Terra and Jerry Palmer live in a shingled one-room cabin that Jerry built 30 years ago. The rehabilitation will be from the Edens Expressway junction to Ohio Street. The investigation began in December 2022 when Barren County Jailer Aaron Shirley requested the Barren River Drug Task Force investigate how drugs were getting into the detention They fear reprisals and asked that their names be changed. This ruse allows criminal organizations to grow on a vast scale. These violations could result in the civil forfeiture of the property.. status as a stronghold of illegal cannabis farms since the 1960s, Jackson and Douglas counties declared a state of emergency in October, Operation Green Sweep descended on the nearby Emerald Triangle, recently raided two supposed hemp farms they believe are operated by the same cartel. In another Douglas county raid this November, police seized 500,000 pounds of weed, which they estimate is worth $500m. A 17-year-old male has been arrested in connection with a drive-by shooting that happened earlier this year in Millersburg. WebCave Junction crime rates are 28% lower than the national average. Continue with Recommended Cookies, : This data reflects the 2020 calendar year and was released from the. Emergency Communications of Southern Oregon, better known as emergency dispatch, received a call at 8:33 a.m. of a threat at Ashland High School. The threat of violence isnt limited to workers. The remains were found in the Quartz Creek area in June 1986. Hall documents the impact of the illegal farms depleting aquifers by pumping from protected rivers and digging huge pits to tap into the groundwater. The Josephine County Latest stories. Which I think in large part they are.. These large grows have flooded the market a pound of cannabis that was worth $3,000 in 2009 here might now fetch $400, all but killing the industry for small-time WebNewsBreak provides latest and breaking Cave Junction, OR local news, weather forecast, crime and safety reports, traffic updates, event notices, sports, entertainment, local life When residents call in, they are scared, Freeman says. Detectives identified Cave Junction residents Renee Lee Edrington, 39, and Kyle James Forester, 29, as the suspects. They rule by fear of injury and death. You have permission to edit this article. Guard dogs run through a small clearing, barking at us. Police say Moehring was arrested without incident at an Interstate 5 rest area around 9 a.m. Monday by personnel from the Eugene Police Department, the U.S. The Josephine County District Attorneys Office said on the morning of December 7, police received a call reporting a physical altercation at 400 Pinewood Way. WebNewsBreak provides latest and breaking local news and reports on Cave Junction, OR crime and public safety, and updates from police and fire departments, so you stay As of Friday afternoon, Josephine County Jail records showed Meyer was still an inmate held on $50,000 bail. In 2019, government raids destroyed 953,459 plants in California. Law enforcement employees (officers & civilians), Violent crimes in Cave Junction are 57% lower than the national average, In Cave Junction you have a 1 in 59 chance of becoming a victim of crime, Year over year crime in Cave Junction has decreased by 2%. The initial investigation revealed Roberts had drifted off the road and struck a tree. Not very safe. Christopher Michael Meyer of Cave Junction faces first-degree online sexual corruption of a child, luring a minor and unlawfully delivering marijuana charges on accusations he spent more than a month texting a person he believed to be a 14-year-old girl, and that he offered the teens 16-year-old friend an ounce of marijuana, according to documents filed Friday in Josephine County Circuit Court. WebCave Junction arrest records. On Wednesday, Oregon State Police troopers responded to the report of a single vehicle crash on Highway 199 near Cave Junction. Our website uses cookies to improve your experience. CAVE JUNCTION, Ore. Three suspects were quickly apprehended after a bank robbery in Cave Junction. Hit every one of these farms., Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, Empty hoop houses seen along the roadside near Cave Junction, Oregon, last month. We know that, he says of the cartels.With a team of just three detectives, Daniel doesnt have the manpower to properly tackle the problem. KERBY, Ore. The death of a man dropped off at the Chevron in Cave Junction earlier this month led the Josephine County Sheriff's Office to investigate a Josephine County Mugshots Josephine County Mugshots : Feb-13-2023 Feb-14-2023 OCN provides news and information Jan 09, 2022 03:02 PM, SOU president gets feedback on realignment plan, Oregon will begin processing 2022 state income tax returns Jan. 23, Man sentenced in connection with beating death, Since You Asked: Panera Bread on track for early 2023 opening. A man, one of four suspects, will be sentenced later this week for his role in a 2019 homicide and arson in Cave Junction, Ore. Two people are in the Josephine county jail facing murder, robbery, and theft charges. Deport illegal migrant workers, Terra wrote in a letter beseeching authorities to take action. (The US average is 22.7) Cave Junction Douglas county law enforcement recently raided two supposed hemp farms they believe are operated by the same cartel and seized a total of 122,000 cannabis plants nearly 50 times the quantity of plants that can typically be grown under a recreational cannabis license. He started questioning one of the soldiers managers, soldiers, whatever you want to call it and they threatened to burn his house down. Learn more about: Privacy Policy, 2022-23 NFL Sunday Night Football schedule, Two arrested for murder, robbery in Cave Junction, Medford police search for armed robbery suspect, Search for third plane crash victim temporarily suspended, Snow leads to slick conditions, crashes early Tuesday across Jackson county, SMHS basketball breaking school records, led by emerging star Boden Howell, 19th annual Oregon Chocolate Festival in Ashland this weekend, Highway 199 closed briefly as part of widespread snow. From Dec. 1 to Jan. 6, Meyer allegedly engaged in sexually explicit text conversations with the purported 14-year-old, according to a document filed by the Josephine County Sheriffs Office in the case. Evelyn Barrera is accused of using road flares stolen from a sheriff's office outpost to light 11 fires near an elementary school on May 11. Josephine county resident Gary Longnecker looks at an illegal grow along his property. CHICAGO - A large chunk of the Kennedy Expressway is scheduled for construction beginning this March. I feel safe walking in most areas. Thats incredibly frustrating to legal cannabis farms. Trends Analytics. I fully support federal resources being brought, Oregon national guard and federal law enforcement coming in. You can cancel at any time. Persons named have only been arrested on suspicion of the crime indicated and are presumed innocent. The break in the case came when a witness identified as Clarabelle Compton came forward, and provided a statement that named the four suspects. This part of south-western Oregon which encompasses Josephine, Jackson and Douglas counties and was settled by goldminers in the 1850s has always kept a touch of the wild west anti-authority streak, contributing to its status as a stronghold of illegal cannabis farms since the 1960s. State law doesnt allow us to, he says. An amount below 100 means Cave Junction is cheaper than the US average. Forester was taken into custody without incident. Around 10:30 a.m., a deputy pulled a driver over on Laurel Road near Walters Drive. Webb is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 23, Josephine County Circuit Court records show. He points out a cluster of greenhouses surrounded by piles of trash, and the hillside above, which has been terraced and entirely stripped of vegetation. Michael Moehring, 42, is facing two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of first-degree abuse of a corpse, and one count each of first-degree arson, second-degree arson and felon in possession of a firearm. Oregon State Police Facebook Meyer also faces a misdemeanor evidence tampering charge accusing him of throwing his phone into the creek. The threat to the environmental health of the region cannot be overstated. Ore. The Illinois Valley Fire District Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) will be conducting a free basic disaster training course. Night or day, it's a very safe place. A Cave Junction woman was arrested following an alleged trespass incident in Canyonville early Sunday. Another suspect, Justin Robert Mason, 31, was sentenced to 75 months in April after pleading guilty in January to second-degree manslaughter and first-degree burglary for his involvement in the arson and homicide. Confiscate the property and jail landowners who knowingly lease land to illegal growers. Crow faces two additional counts of unlawful use of a weapon for allegedly using a flare as a weapon against two other victims that night. Our local government seems to spend more time enforcing compliance on legal cannabis farms than even visiting illegal cannabis farms, Cedar says. Moehring is the second suspect arrested in the case. Guard dogs run through a small clearing, barking at us. A Cave Junction man wanted in connection with a double murder in Josephine County was arrested in Linn County on Monday, according to the Oregon State Police. Mail Tribune to cease operations Friday - 1/13/2023. A lone marijuana plant seen covered in snow at Q-Bar-X Ranch near Kerby. A 35-year-old Josephine County man faces a string of felony charges surrounding a sting investigation in which he allegedly engaged in sexually explicit texts with a person he believed to be an underage girl, and on accusations he delivered illicit marijuana to the girls purportedly 16-year-old friend. The Illinois River near Cave Junction, Oregon. Ive had a homeowner who leased out his property, but then he realized it wasnt actually just a hemp grow, says Sheriff Daniel. The information contained on this website is protected by constitutional, publishing, and other legal rights. I tell Hall I think we should move on, and he reluctantly shifts into drive but is unable to resist a few parting shots: Do you think you can just keep trashing our streams? A gated property where an illegal cannabis operation was located in Cave Junction, Oregon. Our crime rates are based on FBI data. Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. She has to keep her dogs away from the creek that runs through her property because its full of nasty looking slime; she blames fertilizer run-off from the unregulated farms. Mesquite, TX Daily Crime Records. The charges stem from the March 24 discovery of the bodies of Daniel Hill, 24, and Paul Folk, 26, in a burning car in Selma. Copyright 2007 - 2023 United Reporting Corporation. This yields a total of 24 sex offenders in Oregon per 100,000 residents which is 91% less than the national average. Its the same story in Oregon, where busts on large grows now yield tens of thousands of plants.When I say cartels, Im not talking just Hispanic, says the Josephine county sheriff, Dave Daniel, who welcomes the idea of state and federal help. For a bespectacled middle-aged conservationist, Hall is surprisingly reckless. 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