Bend man accused of opening fire on busy street indicted on federal gun charges; some state charges continue
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – A Bend man accused of shooting at another man on a busy northeast Bend street last month has been indicted on federal charges of felon in possession of a firearm, a prosecutor said Friday as a Deschutes County judge agreed to dismiss three similar local charges.
Aaron Polit, 41, still faces three charges in Deschutes County, one of first-degree attempted assault and two of unlawful use of a weapon, in the August 28th incident.
Police said he parked on NE Emerson Avenue, got out of his Jeep holding a handgun, called out to a nearby man and fired at least one shot. They said a bystander with a concealed weapons permit drew his gun and confronted Polit, who dropped his gun.
Responding officers found a 9 mm handgun on the street, and police said a search of the Jeep turned up body armor, a 12-guage shotgun and ammunition. He initially was accused at arrest of second-degree attempted murder, but first-degree attempted assault was the most serious charge in the subsequent grand jury indictment.
Polit was scheduled to enter a plea to the state charges on Friday, but a representative of Polit’s public defender, Angela Lee-Mandlin, said she was unavailable and requested a 30-day delay to review a large volume of evidence in the case. Instead, Miller rescheduled the plea hearing for next Friday.
Deputy District Attorney Andrew Doyle, who also prosecutes federal cases, said a federal grand jury indicted Polit Thursday on the federal felon in possession of a firearm statute. As a result, Judge Miller granted Doyle’s motion to dismiss the three similar local charges involving the 9 mm handgun, shotgun and body armor.
Asked by NewsChannel 21 if the federal charges could bring a longer sentence, Doyle said that depends on a host of factors. He also said, “We will continue to negotiate both cases,” which could result in one or two separate trials or potential sentences.
The prosecutor said he expects Polit’s initial Eugene federal court appearance and arraignment on the federal charges to be held in October or November.
After the judge granted the motion to dismiss three of the six local charges, Polit, appearing by video from the jail, asked, “Does that mean the whole case is federal now?” The judge explained that the state only was dismissing some of the charges in state court.
