Convicted murderer arrested in multi-property JoCo pot raid

Nick Morgan, Mail Tribune, Medford, Ore.
·2 min read

Aug. 26—A man paroled on a prior murder conviction was among two suspects arrested on felony marijuana charges stemming from a June drug raid that reportedly involved the seizure of more than 200,000 plants at four grow sites in rural Josephine County.

Harvey Anthony Caron, 67, and Julio Rodriguez-Chavez, 31, were arrested Wednesday on charges of possessing more than eight pounds of marijuana and four counts of unlawfully manufacturing marijuana, according to Josephine County Jail records and a news release issued Thursday by the Josephine County Sheriff's Office. The charges stem from narcotics task force raids June 17 at multiple properties in Selma and Cave Junction.

The Josephine Marijuana Enforcement Team task force — with the help of other state and federal law enforcement agencies such as the Jackson County Illegal Marijuana Enforcement Team, the Douglas Interagency Narcotics Team and U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations — said it seized more than 200,000 illegally grown marijuana plants between six properties, according to an earlier news report.

Authorities are now attempting forfeiture of at least four properties involved, including properties on Deer Creek Road, Lakeshore Drive, Dryden Lane, Patton Bar Road and Redwood Highway.

Caron was convicted of murder in 1993, according to Douglas County Circuit Court records. The conviction stemmed from an Oct. 23, 1988, cocaine deal in Roseburg that went south and resulted in Caron killing a man.

Caron was sentenced to 20 years to life as part of a plea agreement.

Prior to the murder, Caron had served seven years in federal prison for flying marijuana out of Mexico, according to a previous news report.

As of Thursday morning, Caron was held in the Josephine County Jail without bail on the marijuana charges and for violating his parole on the murder conviction. Records showed that Rodriguez-Chavez was booked and released from the jail Wednesday.

Reach web editor Nick Morgan at 541-776-4471 or nmorgan@rosebudmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MTCrimeBeat.