Bend man in kilt arrested, accused of threatening others on street with gun and knife

It took 2 'less-lethal' rounds, 2 Taser deployments to take him into custody; drugs 'likely factor'

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – A report of a man in a kilt brandishing a shotgun and knife and threatening people on a northeast Bend street Sunday night led to his eventual arrest, but it took two “less lethal” foam rounds and two Taser deployments to take him into custody, officers said Tuesday.

Officers responded around 9:20 p.m. Sunday to the report of a man brandishing a shotgun and knife at a woman in the 300 block of NE Dekalb Avenue after she approached him about a dog wandering in the road, Police Communications Manager Sheila Miller said.

While officers headed to the scene, the man, later identified as Robert Gwin, 46, of Bend, hit another person’s truck with a metal object and reportedly chased someone in the street, also threatening others at the scene, Miller said.

As officers arrived, Gwin got back in his car and ignored police commands, Miller said. He eventually climbed onto his car’s hood, then the roof, and stood talking on his phone.

Miller said Gwin had a 10-inch knife on his waist and a 3-inch knife holstered on his ankle. He also was wearing a harness and a kilt with several objects hanging from it, she said.

Gwin continued to ignore officers’ commands, despite being told he was under arrest, Miller said. Ultimately, an officer fired two 40-mm less-lethal foam rounds into his torso, and another officer deployed a Taser twice before Gwin was able to be taken into custody.

Gwin was taken first to St. Charles Bend for evaluation, then to the Deschutes County Jail, where he was lodged on three counts each of unlawful use of a weapon and menacing, as well as resisting arrest, second-degree disorderly conduct and second-degree criminal mischief.

Gwin was arraigned Tuesday on six initial charges from the district attorney’s office – four counts of unlawful use of a weapon, a Class C felony, and two of menacing, a Class A misdemeanor. He’s due back in court next week for arraignment on an expected grand jury indictment.

Miller said police recovered an inert stock of a Ruger 10/22, meaning it was no longer capable of being used as a rifle, but looked like one, “so the caller was accurate in what she reported was brandished at her.”

“It appears drugs were likely a factor in this incident,” the police spokeswoman added.