Bend woman charged with burglary, theft after staying in new duplexes for days

She had gotten a key as a potential buyer, kept it, police say

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – A Bend woman was arrested on burglary, criminal trespass and other charges, accused of posing as a potential buyer of a newly built southeast Bend duplex, keeping the key and staying in two of them for nearly a week.

Police responded last Thursday to a set of duplexes on Northeast Cessna Drive, near Reed Market Road, on a reported theft of building materials, Lt. Juli McConkey said Wednesday.

The contractor said someone had broken into and was living in the new duplexes, as personal property was left inside a unit and building materials had been stolen from the construction site.

The officer and contractor went inside and found food in the cupboards and cigarette burns in the new carpet, but no signs of damage to windows or doors to gain access, McConkey said.

They determined the person may have had a key, so officers set up security cameras to watch the duplex, in case the person returned.

That evening, the cameras alerted officers that someone was inside the home. They went to the scene and contacted the 32-year-old woman, who had been living in the new duplexes for nearly a week.

McConkey said the woman told officers she posed as a possible buyer of the home and was given a key she never returned. She returned that evening, using the key, and had stayed in two of the new duplexes.

The contractor said the new buyers had planned to move into the duplex within days, but would now need to wait until the damage was repaired.

The woman was taken to the Deschutes County Jail and charged with first-degree burglary, first-degree criminal mischief, theft of services and criminal trespass. The key has not been recovered, McConkey said.