Sisters man arrested, accused of firing several shots into the ground while riding his bike home drunk from a bar

SISTERS, Ore. (KTVZ) – Reports just after midnight Friday of gunshots fired in Sisters led to the discovery and arrest of a 23-year-old Sisters man, accused of firing several pistol shots into the ground while riding his bike home from a bar before crashing it, Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies said.

Deputies were dispatched around 12:20 a.m. to reports of gunshots in the area of West Felicity Lane in Sisters, Sergeant Jason Wall said. Citizens said they were hearing the shots from areas to the north and east of that location.

Deputies searching the area found a man near the Pacific Pride fueling station who appeared to have crashed his bicycle, sustaining minor injuries, Wall said.

A deputy spotted a black semi-automatic pistol and a black hooded sweatshirt on the nearby sidewalk. The man told deputies the gun belonged to him.

Deputies said the intoxicated man admitted to firing the pistol “numerous times into the ground as he rode his bicycle home from a bar in Sisters,” Wall said in a news release.

Evidence at the scene and witness statements support that the gun was fired into the ground and not toward anyone or any building, the sergeant said. Witnesses told deputies they’d seen a man riding a bike, shooting what appeared to be a handgun into the ground.

The suspect was booked into the county jail in Bend on charges of unlawful use of a weapon, unlawful possession of a firearm, reckless endangering and DUII. He was released on his own recognizance late Friday morning, jail officials said, pending an initial court date scheduled for Sept. 19.

Oregon law considers a bicycle a vehicle for purposes of charges such as driving under the influence of intoxicants. NewsChannel 21’s policy is to not name arrested individuals until and unless formal charges are filed.