On March 28, 2026 officers from the Ashland Police Department were dispatched to 137 Church Street for a complaint of a trespasser inside a vacant home. On arrival officers contacted a man who was armed with a axe who refused to come outside. The man stated that he was additionally armed with firearms and explosives and that the only way he would vacate the property was if fatal force were used. Additionally, the man stated that he would use the explosives to set the residence on fire if removed.

APD reached out to the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office SWAT team, which responded while officers continued to try to convince the suspect to exit the house. Upon arrival JCSO negotiators continued to communicate with the suspect in an attempt to bring the situation to a peaceful conclusion.

APD officers prepared and applied for a search warrant, which was granted. Because of the ongoing threats to use explosives to set the house of fire, which would have posed a major risk to the neighborhood, members of the SWAT team initiated contact with the suspect at approximately 5:00 p.m.

As the SWAT team was making contact the suspect used accelerants in his possession to set the house on fire. The suspect then exited the interior onto a roof of the house, where SWAT team members used a ladder to contact him and take him into custody.

Members of Ashland Fire & Rescue were on scene already, staged, and were able to quickly address the fire in the house, however the house did incur heavy damage from the fire due to the use of accelerants in igniting the blaze.

The suspect was taken into custody, having sustained significant burn injuries, and is currently being treated at an area hospital. The suspect will be lodged at the Jackson County Jail after release from the hospital. The suspect remains in custody and under guard while at the hospital.

The suspect is identified as Fedish Llewellyn Ford, 41 years old, California transient. He will be lodged on charges of Arson 1^st Degree, Burglary 1^st Degree, Trespass 2^nd Degree and Criminal Mischief 1^st Degree

In addition to the Sheriff’s Office and Ashland Fire & Rescue, APD was assisted by members of the Talent and Phoenix Police Departments, as well as the Jackson County District Attorney’s office. APD is grateful for partnerships we have with these agencies as well as all area emergency response agencies.

On March 25, 2026 at 4:43 a.m. members of the Ashland Police Department, Ashland Fire & Rescue and the Talent Police Department responded to the area of the 300 block of Morton to investigate a loud explosion. The investigation led officers to find that an explosive device had been detonated inside of a parked and unoccupied vehicle. Officers spotted what was thought to be a potential secondary explosive device in the vehicle. The area was secured with neighbors being advised to shelter in place. Bomb disposal techs from the Oregon State Police Department arrived on scene to assist, and verified that there was no further threat of explosion in the area.

Evidence collected on scene indicated that the crime was committed by a known subject, who had also been the focus of investigations by the Medford Police Department, and who was already wanted on outstanding charges stemming from the MPD investigation.

APD was joined in the investigation by the Oregon State Police, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, the Jackson County District Attorney’s Office, the Medford Police Department, the United States Attorney’s Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms.

Detectives were quick to locate the suspect at a residence in the 100 block of Fork Street in Ashland and took him into custody.

The investigation continues with additional evidence being collected.

The arrested suspect is Michael Scott Beugli, 32 years old, resident of Ashland.

Beugli was charged with Arson 1^st Degree, Arson 2^nd Degree, Unlawful Possession of a Destructive Device, Unlawful Manufacture of a Destructive Device, Criminal Mischief 1^st Degree, Reckless Endangering and Reckless Burning.

The suspect was lodged at the Jackson County Jail.