Bend PD clears homeless camp on city lot, make one arrest

One of several transients ordered by police to vacate a homeless camp on a city-owned lot in northeast Bend was arrested Saturday and jailed on a probation violation, as well as marijuana possession after about 15 pounds were found in his tent, officers said Sunday.

Bend police on Feb. 19 became aware of transients living on the city-owned property south of 230 Northeast Ninth Street, an undeveloped lot south of First Presbyterian Church and east of Bend High School, said police Lt. Nick Parker.

Police “notified the illegal campers they were not welcome on the property and gave them sufficient notice to leave,” Parker wrote in a news release. Last Thursday, those still occupying the property were given a 24-hour written notice to leave the premises.

Shortly before 9 a.m. Saturday, Austin Logan Connell was contacted as he left a tent on the lot. Parker said he was aware of the notice to vacate and had the written notice in his possession.

Officers also found Connell possessed marijuana, which was a violation of his probation, Parker said. During the resulting investigation, officers found a “substantial amount” of marijuana in the tent Connell was staying in, the lieutenant said. It was later weighed and found to total 15 pounds.

State law defines possession of more than four times the legal amount of marijuana as a Class A misdemeanor, Parker noted. A person can legally possess up to eight ounces of dried marijuana (leaves, stems, flowers) when the person is not in a public place.

Connell was taken to the Deschutes County Jail, where he remained held without bail Sunday on a probation violation. He also faces charges of unlawful marijuana possession and second-degree criminal trespass.

Parker told NewsChannel 21 the city clears homeless camps “when we have the authority,” such as on city-owned property. He also said they had not returned as of Sunday.