China Hat transient accused of pointing gun at touring family, firing shot tells judge he wants to represent himself

(Update: Adding arraignment, suspect planning to act as own lawyer; tour operator statement)

Tour operator feels 'horrible' about what occurred, will shift tours elsewhere

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- A transient arrested after he allegedly pointed a gun at a touring family and fired a shot near a girl off China Hat Road south of Bend made his first court appearance Monday and told the judge he wants to represent himself. Mean while, the tour guide operator said he felt “horrible” about what had occurred and won't bring future tours to that area.

The DA's charging document, called an information, filed against Nathaniel Gideon Bennett, 34, alleged three felony counts of unlawful use of a weapon and five misdemeanor charges: two counts of recklessly endangering another person and one count each of menacing, resisting arrest and pointing a firearm at another.

The last charge alleges he "did unlawfully and purposely point or aim a gun at or toward (the female juvenile), who was within range of said firearm."

 What might have been a brief initial court appearance if a lawyer was appointed instead became quiet lengthy Monday afternoon when Bennett repeatedly insisted on acting as his own attorney, despite Circuit Judge Alycia Harriott’s advice and warnings about the potential negative impacts on his case and future.

Herriott agreed to Deputy DA Andrew Doyle’s request for Bennett's continued no-bail hold for allegedly violating probation in a previous case. Doyle said Bennett allegedly pointed a shotgun at the minor's face, and later discharged it, also pointing it at the other alleged victims.

“I will represent myself,” Bennett said numerous times, sometimes adding “for now,” or “for the time being.” He said he'd had an issue with the defense attorney proposed to represent him. In a previous case, he claimed, the evidence against him was not shared with him to review.

The judge told him she could appoint a different attorney or law group, even make a temporary appointment to “give it a try” and see if another lawyer was more acceptable. But she also assured Bennett, when he asked, that he could ask for legal representation later on, if he wished.

Doyle said the state will seek the so-called “firearm mandatory minimum” of an additional five years for each of the three felony charges.

Bennett questioned several times if the state has evidence to back up the charges. He requested to look at the state’s evidence immediately, but Herriott said he must first sign a formal waiver of his right to representation.

Doyle also noted that Bennett’s parents were in the courtroom, but the defendant declined the judge’s offer to give them an opportunity to address the court.

A California woman who also was on the tour, Kelly Scheufler, told NewsChannel 21 Saturday she didn’t witness the incident, but the frightened Kansas family caught up with her a short time later and said to call 911 and bring police. “I said, ‘No, no – we need to get out of here now!”

Later, a quick online search turned up incidents involving homeless camps in the area, and she said she was surprised tours would be brought to that area.

Deputies were dispatched around 3 p.m. Friday to the reported weapons offense along Forest Service Road 1810 south of China Hat Road, Sergeant Chris Barringer said.

Responding deputies learned Bennett confronted a tour group riding all-terrain (UTV) vehicles in the area of his camp. The man allegedly pointed a gun at members of the tour group and discharged the gun in close proximity to a juvenile female, Barringer said.

Deputies tried to safely contact Bennett, but were unsuccessful. More DCSO personnel, including SWAT team members and negotiators, went to the scene and made contact with Bennett, using an armored vehicle to conduct negotiations.

Bennett was not cooperating with law enforcement attempts to take him into custody and tried to return to his van, where they believed he had access to weapons, Barringer said.

As a result, K-9s Ronin and Delta were deployed and successfully captured the suspect. Bend Fire paramedics took Bennett to St. Charles Bend for evaluation of possible injuries from the K-9 capture.

He was later booked into the county jail on charges of fourth-degree attempted assault, three counts of menacing, two counts of reckless endangering, coercion and three counts of unlawful use of a weapon.

Scheufler told NewsChannel 21 she was on the same tour as the family, having found it on Airbnb. She said  they had turned around at the end of one trail as “there was a littered encampment at the end of the trail.”

She said she was mostly “in the back of the group” on their ATVs, with the tour guide “already way ahead of us.”

She said she lost sight of the Kansas family, who was riding behind her. Concerned they might have had a problem, she stopped and waited for them. Soon, she said, “They pulled up behind me, got out and were completely traumatized."

Scheufler said they told her “the man living there came out and pointed a shotgun at the family … to the mother’s head, the father’s head and a teen-aged daughter’s head. Then he shot the gun off near the young girl’s head.”

“Everyone sped out of there,” she said. “All of us were tourists, and really didn’t know this was a dangerous area.” Later, she said, she researched the area and easily learned of a drug arrest involving fentanyl, “and I found other articles about crime and problems there.”

“I don’t know why they took us there,” she said. “I probably would have not gone, if I knew. I’m not a person who hates homeless people, and I don't believe they’re all dangerous. But unfortunately, this one was.”

NewsChannel 21's Kelsey McGee spoke further with Scheufler on Saturday. She said, "I think I held it together until I actually got home, and then I just lost it, because it was just so awful. And I have kids myself, and I just cannot imagine watching that happen to your kid and how scary that would be. So I just lost it, and I've been on and off. Really sad for them."

Scheufler said they were on a two-hour tour she found on Airbnb that was organized by Outriders Northwest. The two-hour Bend Badlands tour ("You Drive, We Guide") using Polaris RZR side-by-side UTVs explores "scenic trails in Ponderosa forests, Volcanic Buttes, mesmerizing lava flows and spectacular viewpoints."

Outriders Northwest owner Mike Willock told NewsChannel 21 on Monday he was "obviously broken up" about the "horrific" incident and has had "a lot of sleepless nights" since it happened.

"I feel just horrible about the situation," he said. "Our No.1 goal is to create safe, professional experiences. … We've been doing tours up there since 2016, and nothing like this has ever occurred."

He said they will take steps to assure it doesn't happen again, including a change in the tour route: "That's not going to be an area I want to go into -- for my safety, my guests' safety."

Willock later provided this statement to NewsChannel 21:

"This incident that occurred was absolutely terrifying and our thoughts and prayers go out to the guests that were involved.  We have been conducting off-road adventure tours since 2016 in this region and have never encountered a situation like this before.  In operation with our Special Use Permits with the Deschutes National Forest, we are approved to use only specific designated trails. It is incredibly unfortunate that this situation occurred, and we plan to relocate our experiences in the future because of it." 

Court records show Bennett pleaded guilty in July to three of nine charges he was arrested on in May and October of last year: menacing, resisting arrest and unlawful manufacture of a marijuana item. He was sentenced to 20 days in jail and two years probation, along with undergoing substance abuse evaluation and treatment.