REDMOND, Ore. – A man was arrested for trying to rob what he thought was a marijuana grow operation in central Oregon.
The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office said on December 25, a person reported he was holding two trespassers at gunpoint at a licensed industrial hemp farm just north of Redmond. However, before officers arrived the pair was able to get away.
Deputies said they were able to identify one of the suspects as 31-year-old Mitchell Bruce Ballard Jr. He was later tracked down on public lands behind a local landfill transfer station and arrested. The woman he was with was able to escape and remains at large. Her identity is being withheld as the investigation continues.
Investigators determined Ballard and the woman entered the hemp farm to steal, what they believed was, marijuana. “Industrial hemp is a variety of the Cannabis sativa plant species that is grown specifically for the industrial uses of its derived products,” DCSO said. “Although it does contain minute amounts of THC, industrial hemp does not have the impairing effects of marijuana.”
According to the sheriff’s office, the property owners acted lawfully when they tried to detain Ballard and the woman.
DCSO said Ballard was lodged in the Deschutes County Jail on numerous charges, including attempting to elude, robbery, reckless endangering and criminal mischief.
Detectives are continuing to search for the woman involved.
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