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One man has been arrested and four suspects remain at large after a group wearing ski masks and armed with crow bars, baseball bats and at least one hand gun invaded a South County home looking for marijuana and cash, according to the county sheriff's office.
At 4:10 a.m. Sunday, a neighbor called to report five suspects had entered a home on the 20000 block of Woodbury Drive demanding money and marijuana, the sheriff's office said. The home was located in a rural residential area near Dog Bar Road.
"This is a 100-percent marijuana rip off. This was not a random act," said Lt. Bill Evans of the Nevada County Sheriff's Office.
When deputies arrived at the residence, they found eight people beaten and bound on the floor, including one young woman.
"They beat these people severely," Evans said.
One person was able to escape from the home and sought help at a neighbor's house, the report said. When Sheriff's deputies arrived, the masked suspects left their weapons behind and ran into the woods, Evans said.
"It's our guess they probably had another vehicle parked around the corner," he said.
A 27-year-old victim in critical condition with a possible broken neck was air lifted to Sutter Roseville Trauma Center, according to Evans. Two more were taken by ambulance to Auburn Faith Hospital with serious to moderate injuries.
"One of the occupants of the home, James Becket, age 45 to 50, has not been located," the sheriff's office said in a press release.
Evans said he did not know why Becket was identified in the public statement but said his involvement and disappearance is a mystery. "We don't know if he's a victim," Evans said.
A rented van was left at the scene, full of newly cut marijuana, believed to be from the homeowner's "extensive" indoor and outdoor gardens, the sheriff's office said. Narcotics investigators are determining if the owner of the gardens had a doctor's recommendation to grow the plants for medicinal use.
Later Sunday, 20-year-old Larken Bauers was arrested several miles away on Pekolee Drive with evidence linking him to the home invasion. Bauers is being charged with conspiracy and armed robbery. Four other suspects remain at large.
At least one of the suspects had a prior affiliation with the residence, Evans said.
Deputies used crime dogs to search for evidence later Sunday and found discarded rubber gloves and other items.
"There's all kinds of stuff we're going to find DNA on," Evans said.
About two weeks ago, North San Juan resident Dusty Beck, 42, shot John Scott Shelton, 31 of Linda at close range with a shotgun as Shelton and at least one other person entered Beck's home on the 11000 block of Tyler Foote Crossing Road, according to authorities.
The alleged home invasion was motivated by harvest-time theft of increasingly valuable pot, the sheriff's office said.
Nevada County's assistant district attorney has said it's "too early" to know whether the incident was an attempt to steal marijuana, as reported by the victim and the sheriff's office.
Eruptions of violence over marijuana is nothing new in Nevada County, but Evans said he expects the number of cases to rise.
"I think we're going to see the trend get worse and worse because of marijuana's value. It's a cash crop," Evans said.
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To contact Staff Writer Laura Brown, e-mail laurab@theunion.com
At 4:10 a.m. Sunday, a neighbor called to report five suspects had entered a home on the 20000 block of Woodbury Drive demanding money and marijuana, the sheriff's office said. The home was located in a rural residential area near Dog Bar Road.
"This is a 100-percent marijuana rip off. This was not a random act," said Lt. Bill Evans of the Nevada County Sheriff's Office.
When deputies arrived at the residence, they found eight people beaten and bound on the floor, including one young woman.
"They beat these people severely," Evans said.
One person was able to escape from the home and sought help at a neighbor's house, the report said. When Sheriff's deputies arrived, the masked suspects left their weapons behind and ran into the woods, Evans said.
"It's our guess they probably had another vehicle parked around the corner," he said.
A 27-year-old victim in critical condition with a possible broken neck was air lifted to Sutter Roseville Trauma Center, according to Evans. Two more were taken by ambulance to Auburn Faith Hospital with serious to moderate injuries.
"One of the occupants of the home, James Becket, age 45 to 50, has not been located," the sheriff's office said in a press release.
Evans said he did not know why Becket was identified in the public statement but said his involvement and disappearance is a mystery. "We don't know if he's a victim," Evans said.
A rented van was left at the scene, full of newly cut marijuana, believed to be from the homeowner's "extensive" indoor and outdoor gardens, the sheriff's office said. Narcotics investigators are determining if the owner of the gardens had a doctor's recommendation to grow the plants for medicinal use.
Later Sunday, 20-year-old Larken Bauers was arrested several miles away on Pekolee Drive with evidence linking him to the home invasion. Bauers is being charged with conspiracy and armed robbery. Four other suspects remain at large.
At least one of the suspects had a prior affiliation with the residence, Evans said.
Deputies used crime dogs to search for evidence later Sunday and found discarded rubber gloves and other items.
"There's all kinds of stuff we're going to find DNA on," Evans said.
About two weeks ago, North San Juan resident Dusty Beck, 42, shot John Scott Shelton, 31 of Linda at close range with a shotgun as Shelton and at least one other person entered Beck's home on the 11000 block of Tyler Foote Crossing Road, according to authorities.
The alleged home invasion was motivated by harvest-time theft of increasingly valuable pot, the sheriff's office said.
Nevada County's assistant district attorney has said it's "too early" to know whether the incident was an attempt to steal marijuana, as reported by the victim and the sheriff's office.
Eruptions of violence over marijuana is nothing new in Nevada County, but Evans said he expects the number of cases to rise.
"I think we're going to see the trend get worse and worse because of marijuana's value. It's a cash crop," Evans said.
ooo
To contact Staff Writer Laura Brown, e-mail laurab@theunion.com
