Massive Illegal Marijuana Grow Busted in Josephine County With 11,600 Plants Destroyed

JOSEPHINE COUNTY, Ore. — The Josephine Marijuana Enforcement Team (JMET) made further inroads against illegal marijuana grow sites on August 26 when they arrested 33-year-old Richard James Bassett Jr. while executing a search warrant in the 700 Block of Althouse Creek Road, Cave Junction.

Josephine County Sheriff’s Office’s JMET, with help from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), United States Marshals Service (USMS), Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and Rogue Area Drug Enforcement (RADE), arrested Bassett and seized and destroyed over 11,600 marijuana plants and 2,500 pounds of processed marijuana. A firearm found at the grow site was also seized.

Bassett faces charges of Unlawful Possession of Marijuana, Unlawful Manufacturing of Marijuana, and Unlawful Appropriation of Groundwater. The property also had multiple electrical, water, and solid waste code violations that could result in the civil forfeiture of the property.

After taking Bassett into custody, police lodged him in the Josephine County Jail.