Noise dispute at resort leads to scuffle with gun, arrest

A noise dispute between two families staying at a resort west of Bend Thursday night led to one man’s arrest after he retrieved his pistol and got into a fight with the other man, during which the loaded gun fell to the ground but did not fire, Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies said.

Deschutes County 911 got a call around 8:15 p.m. from a juvenile who reported his father, Michael Spencer of Portland, was fighting with an unknown man with a gun, Sgt. Kent Vander Kamp said.

Dispatchers used GPS data from the caller’s cell phone to determine the call was coming from the Seventh Mountain Resort on Century Drive, Vander Kamp said.

Deputies arrived to find Dustin Eugene Shippee, 36, from the small Lincoln County town of Otis, returning to his vacation apartment, the sergeant said. Deputies, assisted by Bend police, called Shippee out of his apartment and he was detained without further incident.

Vander Kamp said an investigation determined that both families were vacationing in apartments on separate floors. Shippee became upset about the noise coming from Spencer’s apartment above throughout the day.

Shippee went upstairs to confront Spencer about the noise, Vander Kamp said. After a brief verbal exchange, Shippee left Spencer’s doorway, retrieved a pistol and returned to again confront Spencer.

The two men struggled on the balcony, causing the pistol to fall to the ground, Vander Kamp said. No shots were fired, but Spencer sustained minor injuries in the fight, he added.

Deputies later recovered the pistol from Shippee’s apartment, where the suspect’s wife apparently secured it, Vander Kamp said. He said alcohol use by the suspect is believed to be a factor in the incident.

Shippee was arrested and booked into the county jail on charges of unlawful use of a weapon, two counts each of menacing and recklessly endangering another, fourth-degree assault and second-degree disorderly conduct. He remained held early Friday on $47,500 bail.