LONG CREEK – A third man was arrested last week in connection with the attempted robbery and assault on a medical marijuana provider on Halloween night in Long Creek.

The Grant County Sheriff’s Office said Danny Bruce Evans, 53, of Vancouver, Wash., had been lodged in the Clark County Jail since Tuesday, Nov. 4, after being picked up on a probation violation. On Thursday, Nov. 6, authorities charged him with being a fugitive from justice and served a warrant out of Grant County for first-degree robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery.

Grant County Undersheriff Todd McKinley said Evans previously lived in the Pendleton area and was acquainted with the two other suspects. McKinley also said that the crime was “not random” and that the suspects specifically targeted the victim’s residence.

Other sources said Evans is a former brother-in-law of Verstoppen, and was acquainted with the household.

In another development, Oregon State Police (OSP) detectives with a warrant searched a vehicle in the Pendleton area on Nov. 6 and recovered a gun believed to have been used during the crime.

The Halloween fracas began about 8:18 p.m. when two masked men went to the home of David Verstoppen on Second Street in Long Creek. Verstoppen’s marijuana plants have won honors in an annual competition among Oregon medical marijuana providers.

Investigators believe that the intruders were trying to steal marijuana from the home.

Police said one man pulled a gun on Verstoppen, who managed to get a hand on the gun and begin struggling with the gunman. The second masked man went into the home and began hitting Verstoppen with a golf club.

Verstoppen’s wife, Wendy, and her sister were in the home at the time, along with a 2-year-old child. Police said the women took the toddler and fled to a nearby residence, where they called 9-1-1.

The two men fled after the gun discharged. Police initially believed no one was hit by gunfire.

Police later stopped a car believed to be involved in the robbery attempt on Highway 395 near Pendleton. The driver sped away and later stopped on Highway 74. Two occupants fled on foot, and one was captured at the scene.

Lance Sanchez, 28, of Milton-Freewater, was arrested and is being held in the Umatilla County Jail.

Police on Saturday, Nov. 1, arrested Bobby Lee Ruston, 31, of Pendleton, at a private residence in Walla Walla, Wash. Ruston, who had outstanding warrants, had suffered a gunshot wound to his right hand. He was taken to a Walla Walla area jail.

Verstoppen was treated at Blue Mountain Hospital for injuries received in the assault, and released.

His wife said late last week she couldn’t discuss the case, but she confirmed that her husband was recovering all right from the attack. She also said she was thankful for his quick action when the men entered the home.

“He saved his family,” she said. “He was very brave.”

Some neighbors were unhappy, however, with the way the events unfolded.

Joe Clark, who lives nearby, said he was worried that the assailants could have picked the wrong house and shot someone. He also said that the way the men peeled out when they fled, it was lucky they didn’t run over any little trick-or-treaters.

Clark said he plans to go to the Long Creek City Council to talk about marijuana growing in town.

“It’s a public safety issue,” he said. “They say that because it’s medical marijuana, they can’t do anything.”

He’d like to see the city require a business license that requires a bond.

“My feeling is that it’s about the health and safety of the public,” he said.

The Oregon Medical Marijuana Program (OMMP) administers the state law approved by voters in November 1998 to allow people with a variety of medical conditions – severe pain, cancer, seizures, muscle spasms, and glaucoma – to legally use marijuana. The patients must have a qualified medical condition, with a physician’s approval. The law allows for three types of cardholders: the patient, the primary caregiver, and the grower.

According to the OMMP website, there were 158 patient cardholders in the combined area of Grant, Gilliam, Harney, Morrow, Sherman, Wallowa and Wheeler Counties as of Oct. 1. Officials combine those low-population counties to protect the privacy of cardholders.

As of the same date, there were 20,547 patients statewide with medical marijuana cards, plus more than 10,000 caregivers who have cards for those patients.

The law is intended to provide relief to people with serious medical conditions. However, it also has stirred controversy in part because confidentiality rules also prevent law enforcement from monitoring whether providers are adhering to the legal limits. And while sale of marijuana is prohibited, critics say growers who accept donations are skirting that part of the law.

An amendment to the law that took effect in January 2006 increased the amount of marijuana that patients may possess. The new limits are six mature plants and 18 immature seedlings.

A grower can possess six plants and 18 immature seedlings per person for up to four persons who hold the cards.

The OMMP said a patient may possess up to 24 ounces of usable marijuana. However, that 24 ounces means the combined amount of ready-to-use marijuana held by the patient and by his or her caregiver and grower.