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Masked assailants woke up James Bowman in the early hours of Dec. 16, broke his nose and left him with black eyes, county sheriff's officials said. They filled a rented U-Haul truck with hundreds of pounds of harvested marijuana and then took off.

(Beth Nakamura/The Oregonian)

Four masked intruders severely beat and robbed a marijuana grower in Jackson County this month in the first reported instance of violent crime at a state-licensed cannabis production operation.

The assailants woke James Bowman in the early hours of Dec. 16, broke his nose and left him with black eyes, county sheriff's officials said. They filled a rented U-Haul truck with hundreds of pounds of harvested marijuana and took off.

Hours later, two of Bowman's workers discovered the 56-year-old, still tied up and cold, sheriff's officials said. The robbers had left the door to his house open.

Bowman, a longtime marijuana grower in southern Oregon, was hospitalized for several days.

The break-in and theft unfolded in the rural community of Wimer, where Bowman started growing medical marijuana two years ago. He had moved there after federal agents and local police raided his large farm in Ruch in 2012 before Oregonians legalized marijuana for recreational use.

Bowman, who was on track that year to be the state's largest producer of medical marijuana, wasn't charged with a crime after the raid, which wiped out his crop.

This year, Bowman applied for and received a producer license for his business, BlueSky Gardens, from the Oregon Liquor Control Commission, the agency that oversees recreational cannabis. He is one of more than 350 licensed marijuana growers producing for the recreational market.

Bowman holds a tier two license, the larger of the two license types issued for outdoor production. Under state rules, he can produce cannabis on up to 40,000 square feet of land.

The liquor commission inspected Bowman's farm in August; inspectors concluded the grow site met the state's requirements.

Mark Pettinger, a commission spokesman, said the agency will conduct an administrative investigation into the security breach once the criminal investigation concludes. Bowman reported the theft to the commission as required.

A message left for Bowman with attorney Robert Graham of Grants Pass wasn't returned Thursday. Graham represents the property owner who leased the land to Bowman.

Experienced marijuana growers in southern Oregon, the epicenter of outdoor production, say break-ins, thefts and robberies aren't a new threat. What sets Bowman's case apart is the rapid response of law enforcement, they said.

"Growers have been calling law enforcement for years and gotten no response," said grower Brent Kenyon. "It's absolutely awesome that we are seeing a response" to the robbery at Bowman's property.

Jackson County Detective Jason Penn said the agency is taking the case seriously and vigorously investigating it. He said the marijuana was stolen from a large cargo container, which had been secured with a padlock.

"The locks are easily clipped off," Penn said.

The assailants damaged the state-required security system. Authorities are still trying to assess what surveillance footage remains on the system, he said.

The thieves struck as the crop was at its most valuable: Bowman's marijuana had been harvested and cured and was ready for market.

"It's all buttoned up nicely in big totes and it's ready to go," Penn said. "It's like coming to someone's house on Christmas Eve and taking all their goodies."

The price of marijuana fluctuates depending on the time of year and whether it was grown indoors or outdoors. Premium outdoor marijuana is worth $1,600 to $2,100 per pound on the wholesale market, said Aviv Hadar, whose Bend company Oregrown produces, processes and sells recreational cannabis. It's worth double on the retail market, he said.

The stolen cannabis is headed for the black market, but it's hard to say how and where the thieves will unload it, Hadar said. He speculated that it may be processed into popular cannabis oils. It could end up in California or across the country, where Oregon cannabis fetches top dollar.

Hadar said he has round-the-clock security staff to deter thieves from entering his property.

Security, he said, is a preoccupation for many growers.

"It keeps us up at night," he said.

-- Noelle Crombie

503-276-7184; @noellecrombie