Man Charged for Stealing Solar Panels from OR Fire Tower

Aug. 24—An anonymous tip led to the arrest of a man suspected of stealing batteries and solar panels needed to power a lookout tower's fire detection camera, the Jackson County Sheriff's Office said.

Two thieves broke into the lookout tower in the Prospect area Aug. 14, but a surveillance camera captured close-up video of one of the men wearing a baseball cap, sunglasses and a mask over his mouth. A second man was visible in the background.

The sheriff's office publicized photos and video from the surveillance camera Aug. 15, and got an anonymous tip Aug. 17 that the suspect was probably Chad Allen McPherson. The tipster provided two photos from McPherson's Facebook page, according to a probable cause affidavit.

"You can clearly tell Chad is the suspect by the shape of his nose and the sunglasses he is wearing in one of the photos," an investigator wrote in the affidavit.

The investigator contacted McPherson's parole and probation officer, who compared security video from the parole and probation office to the surveillance images from the lookout tower. McPherson wore the same Mossy Oak brand baseball cap during his check-in with parole and probation that he wore the day before during the lookout tower break-in, the affidavit said.

Sheriff's detectives arrested McPherson during a traffic stop Friday. Detectives discovered burglary tools during a search of his vehicle, the sheriff's office said.

A grand jury indicted McPherson, 30, of Prospect, on charges of second-degree burglary, first-degree theft, first-degree criminal mischief, possession of a burglary tool and being a felon in possession of a restricted weapon, the sheriff's office said.

Detectives served a search warrant on his property in the 2000 block of Shelly Lane outside Prospect, where they found a weapon he was prohibited from possessing as a convicted felon, the sheriff's office said.

According to the sheriff's office, investigators also discovered a black-market marijuana grow on the property. Illegal Marijuana Enforcement Team detectives served a search warrant and destroyed 256 cannabis plants and 300 pounds of processed black-market marijuana on the property. There was no licensing for any type of cannabis growing, handling or processing at the location.

Later Friday, dispatchers received a call about a duffel bag at the intersection of First Street and Highway 62 in Prospect with a note that read, "Call the cops." Sheriff's office deputies retrieved the bag, which contained some of the items matching descriptions of the equipment stolen from the lookout tower. The solar panels and batteries are still missing, the sheriff's office said.

The theft disabled the Oregon Department of Forestry's early fire detection capability for the northeastern portion of Jackson County near Prospect. ODF is working to get the camera system on the lookout tower back up and running.

The camera is part of an ODF network of mountaintop cameras used to spot smoke and fire in Jackson and Josephine counties. Southern Oregon is in the midst of extreme fire conditions.

McPherson remains lodged in the Jackson County Jail without bail for allegedly violating his parole by being a felon in possession of a firearm.

His past convictions include forgery, first-degree theft, second-degree theft, unauthorized use of a vehicle, being a felon in possession of a firearm, driving with a suspended or revoked license, second-degree criminal mischief and repeated fish and wildlife misdemeanors.

An Oregon law that went into effect this year bars the sheriff's office from releasing a jail mug shot of McPherson before he is convicted.

The second suspect shown in the lookout tower surveillance footage has not been identified, but detectives have identified a person of interest and are working to identify the person using fingerprints and DNA, the sheriff's office said.

Anyone with information about the second suspect or the location of the missing equipment can call the sheriff's office tip line at 541-774-8333. Refer to case 22-4725.

Reach Mail Tribune reporter Vickie Aldous at 541-776-4486 or [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @VickieAldous.

___

(c)2022 the Mail Tribune (Medford, Ore.)

Visit the Mail Tribune (Medford, Ore.) at www.mailtribune.com