Two recent, costly Bend car clout cases may be connected; police remind residents to not leave valuables in cars

(Update: Adding video, comments from victims of recent break-ins)

Police confirm details, investigating whether same suspect involved

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Two women have been tracking down details, security photos and the whereabouts of a man they believe has been smashing car windows, stealing wallets and using the cards to spend funds quickly in various locations around Bend in recent weeks.

Police are still investigating and aren't sure it's the same suspect in both of those crimes and others around the area, but the women are fairly confident it is.

Haley Bier, one of the car break-in victims, provided two store security photos to NewsChannel 21 of the man she believes broke into her car last week. She works in west Bend, and recently after closing, she came out to a smashed window on her truck.

"So he's taking credit cards, and spending them as fast as he can," Bier said Wednesday. "Sometimes he wears a mask, sometimes he doesn't sometimes he wear gloves sometime he doesn't, but he goes pretty quickly."

"He kind of has more like a country style aesthetic as far as, you know, the worn-in jeans and the boots, a worn-in hat. He seems to know the area pretty well, and he seems to stick more to the northeast side with all of his spending."

Bier said the man made other purchases, totaling over $1,000, with her stolen credit cards before she was able to cancel them.

"When I tried to cancel it, it just kept saying 'system error,' 'system error.' Then he tried to take my debit card to a Chase ATM and pull out some money," Bier said.

Bier posted about her experience on NextDoor, and heard from another Bend woman describing a similar break in. A woman named Becky, who declined to be on camera, told us someone broke into her daughter's Toyota Prius in the main parking lot of Cascades Lakes Brewery just a few days ago.

In both cases, unfortunately, wallets were left out in the open inside the car, and could be seen through a window.

"People are just walking through parking lots, trying to see if doors are unlocked, and they might grab whatever they can grab," Bend Police Department Communications Manager Sheila Miller said.

Police said they have not been able to confirm if the two crimes were related, or if the same person is committing the acts.

Miller said car break-ins, or clouts, in the Bend area are not uncommon.

"So far this year, we've had 29 unauthorized entry into a motor vehicle reports, and then 48 thefts from a vehicle. So these are fairly common, and it's only March," Miller said.

An online form, along with a non-emergency dispatch number, is available for car clout victims. The police department plans on passing out signs to local businesses, encouraging people to not leave valuable possessions behind in their vehicles.

Bier told NewsChannel 21 someone else told her they were victimized in January, and that another woman parked in a crowded parking lot near St. Charles Bend had her window bashed out, the suspect took her wallet and then went on a shopping spree.

If you or anyone you know can identify the man in the photos, you are encouraged to call the Bend Police Department at 541-693-6911.