Four arrested in Bend motel Christmas Day robbery
A robbery early Christmas Day at a southeast Bend motel has led to the arrest of four people, a raid on a Redmond home and the recovery of a stolen rifle, PlayStation video game system and propane torch, police said Friday.
Officers were called around 11 a.m. to the Sonoma Lodge on Southeast Third Street on a reported robbery, Lt. Jason Maniscalco said. A 22-year-old Bend man told police two men and a woman stole a .22-caliber rifle, a PlayStation and the torch and threatened violence against him if he tried to intervene.
The victim identified the suspects as Ricky Fontaine, 25; Dakota Len, 20; and Niya Brabec, 18, Maniscalco said.
On Wednesday at around 3:15 p.m. police got an anonymous tip regarding Fontaine’s location and contacted at a residence on O’Connor Way in northeast Bend, where he was arrested. The stolen PlayStation was recovered there, the lieutenant said.
On Thursday at around 3:45 p.m., Brabec and Len were spotted near a Starbucks on the south end of Bend and were arrested, then taken to the Deschutes County Jail.
Investigators determined the stolen rifle had been hidden at a home in the 1400 block of Southwest 27 th Street in Redmond, Maniscalco said. A resident there, Alecia Silvis, 27, was wanted on charges related to a theft from a vehicle in Bend in which a firearm and blank checks were stolen.
On Thursday at around 10:30 p.m., the Central Oregon Emergency Response Team (CERT), along with Redmond and Bend police officers, served a search warrant at the home on 27 th Street. Silvis and three other occupants were there at the time.
Silvis was arrested on an outstanding warrant and the other three occupants were interviewed and released, Maniscalco said.
The stolen rifle from the Sonoma Lodge robbery was recovered from a bedroom and the stolen torch was found in Fontaine’s vehicle, which was parked outside. Drug paraphernalia also was collected at the scene.
Fontaine was charged with second-degree robbery and felon in possession of a firearm, both related to the robbery, and a parole violation warrant, as well as unrelated charges of first-degree forgery, possession of a forged instrument, two counts of first-degree theft and felony criminal conspiracy. He’s being held without bail on the warrant.
Fontaine was arraigned Friday on the district attorney’s initial charging document, called an information, listing three counts: second-degree robbery, first-degree theft and felon in possession of a firearm. He’s due back in court Jan. 4 for arraignment on an expected grand jury indictment.
Court records show Fontaine pleaded guilty to methamphetamine possession in October and was sentenced to 20 days in jail. He pleaded guilty last year to first-degree theft and drug possession and was sentenced to 10 days in jail and two years’ probation.
Len and Brabec both face charges of second-degree robbery and first-degree theft in the holdup and are being held on $50,000 bail.
Len was arraigned Friday on initial charges of second-degree robbery and first- and second-degree theft and is due back in court next Friday for arraignment on an expected formal indictment.
Brabec also was arraigned Friday and is due back in court in a week. Brabec pleaded guilty to DUII-drugs a month ago, after a September indictment on a Jan. 6 incident, court records show. She was sentenced to 10 days in jail, a one-year driver’s license suspension and 18 months’ probation.
Silvis is being held without bail on a probation violation warrant and also is charged with felon in possession of a firearm in relation to the robbery, as well as unrelated first-degree charges of forgery and possession of a forged instrument.
Silvis was arraigned Friday on one count of felon in possession of a firearm and is due back in court next Friday.
She was charged with methamphetamine and heroin possession in several Deschutes County cases last year, as well as unlawful possession of a firearm. She pleaded guilty in October 2017 to first-degree forgery and was sentenced to 15 days in jail and two years’ probation.
