AUBURN – Joe Ralph, 65, of Falls City was sentenced to probation in Nemaha County for attempted possession of a firearm.

A Nebraska game warden arrested Ralph on an Arkansas warrant. Court records say the game warden saw Ralph carrying a shotgun near Indian Cave State Park on Oct. 3.

Court records say Ralph told the officer he was harvesting hemp plants, but Ralph was not among the 176 applicants in 2019  for legalized hemp production in Nebraska.

Authorities say the hemp Ralph was in possession of was not from a legal grow, but had been cut from a roadside ditch.