Bergdahl detained during pot raid

Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl was briefly detained this week during a marijuana raid on a rural property in Mendocino County, a sheriff ’s official said.

Bergdahl, who received national attention after he walked away from his base in eastern Afghanistan in 2009 and was captured by insurgents, was among a group of people inside a home Tuesday morning when deputies found 181 full-grown marijuana plants, said Capt. Greg Van Patten of the Mendocino County sheriff’s office.

Bergdahl, 29, was detained for several hours but not arrested while deputies searched the property in Redwood Valley, about nine miles north of Ukiah, the county’s largest city.

“He was courteous and polite,” Van Patten said, adding he also was “respectful of the process.”

When asked whether Bergdahl knew there was marijuana on the property, and if he was near the plants, Van Patten said, “Anybody would have been aware there was marijuana on the property.”

Deputies arrested one person for marijuana cultivation, Van Patten said.

Bergdahl — who in March was charged with desertion and “misbehavior before the enemy” — told deputies he was on approved leave from the Army and was visiting friends who lived on the property, Van Patten said. Bergdahl provided deputies with his military identification.