Anderson

Plantae co-founder Andrew Anderson will serve six years in prison following a conviction this summer for second-degree kidnapping.

Anderson’s criminal case came to an apparent end Thursday at his sentencing in Deschutes County Circuit Court, with the judge ruling he did not qualify for an exemption to a Measure 11 sentence.

This summer, a jury found Anderson guilty of second-degree kidnapping, a Measure 11 offense in Oregon and subject to steep mandatory prison sentences.

Deschutes County District Attorney John Hummel had insisted on the Measure 11 charges and personally tried the case, which was held in the temporary courtroom at the Deschutes County fairgrounds.

In addition to kidnapping, the jury found Anderson guilty of one count of menacing. A 60-day sentence he received for that offense will run concurrent to his sentence for kidnapping.

The victim of the kidnapping was Anderson’s ex-wife and Plantae co-founder Jocelyn Anderson, who testified he dragged her out of bed and outside their Alfalfa house on Jan. 31, 2017. It was cold and she was wearing only a robe, and Anderson prevented her from coming back inside.

The menacing charge comes from a separate incident days later. Anderson, mad at his wife, drilled holes in her vehicle to prevent her from leaving. While holding the electric drill, he told her she was lucky he was drilling holes in the car and not her, according to court records.

At the sentencing Thursday, Anderson’s defense spent about an hour of the four-hour hearing presenting data from dozens of other convictions for kidnapping in Oregon and the associated prison sentences, arguing the harm inflicted on Jocelyn Anderson was significantly less than that of a typical kidnapping victim. The state argued against it, saying the defense was comparing “apples to oranges” in many cases.

Judge Beth M. Bagley, who handled the sentencing, ultimately sided with the state and ruled Andrew Anderson must receive a Measure 11 sentence.

Also at sentencing, Hummel played around 20 recordings of Anderson captured at the Deschutes County jail. Hummel said they demonstrated Andrew Anderson’s lack of remorse and utter contempt for his ex-wife. Anderson also spoke candidly about his upcoming sentencing hearing, divulging what his attorneys had asked him to tell the judge.

Andrew Anderson’s attorneys have filed a 95-page motion seeking a new trial, arguing the evidence presented by the state was insufficient to justify the guilty finding on the second-degree kidnapping charge.

“The short distance she was moved and the few minutes she was ‘confined’ were not significant enough,” to prove a guilty finding, according to the motion.

The defense’s objection was raised at trial, but Judge Randy Miller overruled it.

The Andersons were married in 2015, the same year they founded Plantae Health, one of Central Oregon’s first recreational marijuana dispensary chains. Court records show the couple has been involved in a contentious divorce since May 2017.

Two years later, in May 2019, Andrew Anderson was indicted on 20 criminal counts in circuit court. His case contained allegations of abuse and manipulation and the shocking news the two founders and the general manager of a prominent marijuana businesses had been involved in a live-in three-way relationship. Over 12 hours of police interviews, the women told police about Anderson ripping doors off hinges and punching his father in the face.

Over the next two years, Anderson’s indictment was pared down considerably, with the dropping of all claims related to the second alleged victim, former Plantae general manager Kristen White.

The case proceeded to trial in August with Anderson facing only four charges.

On Thursday, the prosecution submitted victim statements from former employees and others who described being hurt or abused by Anderson.

In April, Plantae announced Jocelyn Anderson had assumed 100% ownership and would lead the company. Court records show the move was part of a deal in the couple’s ongoing divorce case.