A 41-year old Bend man was arrested Wednesday on drug charges in connection with a marijuana growing operation detectives found when they raided a northeast Bend residence near a high school, drug agents reported.
Bend Police officers requested assistance from the Central Oregon Drug Enforcement (CODE) team when they received information about an alleged pot grow at 544 NE Franklin Avenue, a home less than 1,000 feet from Bend Senior High School at 230 NE 6th Street, Lt. John Gautney said.
Michael Paul Hunt - DCJ photo
The suspect faces additional charges because of the marijuana grow's proximity (less than 1,000 feet) to a high school.
The home was raided about 3:30 p.m., January 2, and a search revealed the presence of a ‘grow room” containing 33 mature marijuana plants, digital scales and equipment used for growing pot, the lieutenant said.
Michael Paul Hunt, 41, was taken into custody without incident and lodged in the Deschutes County Jail. He is charged with possession and manufacture of marijuana, frequenting a place where controlled substances are kept or sold, and because of the proximity to the school an additional charge of unlawful manufacture of marijuana within 1,000 feet of a school was also added.
Gautney estimated that if each plant seized produced only four ounces of marijuana, “and they are capable of much more than that,” he added, they would produce over $30,000 in street-value sales.