Stolen SUV, handgun recovered; 6 Bend teens detained

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Four Bend 14-year-olds in a stolen SUV were taken into custody in a guns-drawn traffic stop at the Costco parking lot Thursday evening and two other teens were detained later, when a loaded handgun that was in the SUV was found hidden in a girl's bedroom, officers said.

A Bend police officer found the white 2013 Ford Explorer around 6:15 p.m. Thursday heading north on Purcell Boulevard, toward Highway 20, Lt. Bob Jones said.

Several other officers arrived in the area of Costco on Highway 20 just as the Explorer pulled into the parking lot. Because a loaded handgun was in the SUV at the time it was stolen, officers conducted a high-risk traffic stop and took the four teens, two male and two female, into custody.

Jones said one of the 14-year-old boys, the driver, also was the one who stole the Explorer reported taken Thursday..

Officers learned two other juveniles were involved in the incident, a 16-year-old boy and a 14-year-old girl, who had been in the stolen SUV earlier Thursday, before the traffic stop.

A search of the Explorer did not find the handgun, Jones said. Investigating officers learned the gun had been removed by the 16-year-old and hidden in the 14-year-old girl's residence, located near Costco in northeast Bend.

Officers got permission to retrieve the handgun from the home and found it in her bedroom, Jones said.

The 16-year-old is on probation in Deschutes County and was taken to the county's Juvenile Detention Center, where he was booked on charges of first-degree theft, unuathorized use of a motor vehicle and unlawful possession of a firearm..

The other juveniles were released to their parents and the same set of charges were referred to the Juvenile Department for consideration, Jones said.