An Oregon resident was booked into Okanogan County Jail last Friday (March 18) in connection with a burglary at Fresh Greens, a licensed recreational marijuana dispensary in Winthrop.
Jonathan Stern, 32, of Bend, was charged with burglary, theft and malicious mischief after he was arrested at a residence just south of Twisp on Friday afternoon, said Dave Rodriguez, who was working on the case as a temporary officer for the Winthrop Marshal’s Office.
While on duty for Winthrop, Rodriguez received a call at 11:30 p.m. Thursday (March 17) from Fresh Greens owner Austin Lott, who said an alarm had gone off at his retail marijuana store on Horizon Flats.
Rodriguez responded along with two Okanogan County sheriff’s deputies and a Twisp police officer.
“When we got there we found it had been broken into and items from the store were missing,” Rodriguez said.
Because all retail marijuana outlets are required as part of their license to have surveillance equipment, Rodriguez was able to gather a description of the vehicle and the suspect.
The following day a citizen reported a vehicle matching the description at a residence near Twisp, and Twisp police officer Ty Sheehan apprehended the suspect at the residence. Rodriguez arrived and identified him as the person he had seen on the store surveillance camera.
“We recovered the items that were missing,” Rodriguez said.
