Bend man arrested in pair of Redmond thefts after being spotted driving on Highway 97
Methamphetamine, guns seized from car; video surveillance proves key
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – A Bend man suspected in a pair of Redmond thefts was pulled over on Highway 97 and arrested on numerous charges Wednesday after a Redmond Police detective who had just recovered the stolen tools from a Bend pawn shop spotted his car, from which drugs and guns were seized.
The man stole a $240 pellet rifle from Redmond’s Coastal store around 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 21, Redmond Police Lt. Jesse Petersen said.
Video surveillance from the business helped officers identify the 36-year-old theft suspect, Petersen said.
On Feb. 2 around 5:30 a.m., the same man allegedly entered an unlocked vehicle in the 3700 block of Southwest Xero Avenue and stole about $1,200 worth of tools, the lieutenant said.
Tools from the theft were recovered Tuesday at a Bend pawn shop, Cash Connection. Petersen said. The business’s video surveillance helped officers determine it was the same suspect as the one in the theft from Coastal.
While heading back to Redmond after recovering the stolen items, the Redmond detective spotted the suspect in a black 1991 Toyota Camry on Highway 97 near Bowery Lane on Bend’s north end. and with assistance from Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies conducted a traffic stop.
The driver was arrested, and a Bend Police detective, with their drug-detection K-9, checked the vehicle, and the dog alerted to the presence of an odor of narcotics, Petersen said.
The Redmond detective applied for and was granted a search warrant, which turned up about 20 grams of methamphetamine and two firearms.
The suspect was booked into the Deschutes County Jail on charges of first- and second-degree theft, unlawful entry into a motor vehicle, second-degree criminal trespass, felony methamphetamine possession, two counts of felon in possession of a firearm and first-degree theft by receiving.
"RPD would like to thank the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office and the Bend Police Department for their assistance with this investigation," Petersen said in a news release. "We would also like to thank the victims for providing detailed lists of stolen items, including serial numbers, and video surveillance. This information was valuable in identifying the suspect and law enforcement’s ability to recover stolen property. "
