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A 36-year-old Bellefontaine man was charged Monday with cultivation of marijuana, criminal trespass and criminal damage and several other Ohio Department of Natural Resources violations related to the cultivation of marijuana at a state-owned nature preserve near West Liberty.
Robert J. Finch, 316 Ludlow Road, was arrested at his residence about noon Monday following an investigation into a marijuana grow operation that was recently discovered by an ODNR worker at the McCracken Fen State Nature Preserve, 4140 Township Road 32, West Liberty, ODNR spokesman Matt Eiselstein said Tuesday.
ODNR officials contacted local law enforcement regarding the findings. They worked with deputies of the Logan County Sheriff’s Office to set up surveillance equipment at the site and obtain a search warrant, Mr. Eiselstein said.
During the past several weeks, deputies and ODNR representatives have worked on the case, and by reviewing the surveillance footage, were able to obtain photos of the suspect.
Monday afternoon, representatives of the Logan County Adult Parole Authority and Bellefontaine Police Department officers assisted with Mr. Finch’s arrest. The defendant was booked into the Logan County Jail about 2 p.m.
He also was charged with stream litter and was cited for several Ohio Administrative Code violations, including preservation of property, introduction of plants and animals and visitation of nature preserve (leaving trail), the ODNR spokesman said.
The defendant is currently on probation, and was also issued a probation violation, deputies said.
McCracken Fen contains at least 17 rare plant species, including Smith’s bulrush, swamp birch and green spikerush. The 93.6-acre nature preserve also is home to a population of the state-endangered lilypad forktail damselfly, according to the ODNR Web site, http://ohiodnr.gov.