Redmond man arrested in fatal shooting of Prineville man on Lone Pine Road
(Update: Victim from Prineville)
Prineville man's body was found Sunday morning by his pickup truck along Lone Pine Road
MADRAS, Ore. (KTVZ) – A Redmond man was arrested Monday on a charge of criminally negligent homicide in the shooting death of a Prineville man whose body was found Sunday morning beside his pickup truck on Lone Pine Road, Jefferson County District Attorney Steve Leriche said Tuesday.
A Jefferson County sheriff’s deputy responded Sunday to a report of a deceased person along Lone Pine Road in Jefferson County, Leriche said. The deputy found the body of Edgar Morales, 30, of Prineville next to his white Ford pickup truck, apparently dead of a gunshot wound, Leriche said.
The Tri-County Major Incident Team was immediately activated and has been “working basically 24/7 investigating the matter,” Leriche told NewsChannel 21, including members of Oregon State Police, the Jefferson, Crook and Deschutes County sheriff’s offices and Madras, Prineville, Redmond and Bend police.
On Monday, Honorio Huerta-Vasquez, 35, of Redmond, was arrested on charges of criminally negligent homicide and tampering with evidence. He was being held at the Jefferson County Jail on $150,000 bail after his initial court appearance Tuesday afternoon, and is due back in court Friday for arraignment on an expected formal indictment, online records showed.
Circuit Judge Annette Hillman granted Leriche's motion asking her to seal the initial charging document and probable cause affidavit, as the DA claimed disclosing the contents could "jeopardize the ongoing investigation."
Leriche thanked member agencies of the Major Incident Team, including the OSP Crime Lab. Anyone with information regarding the incident was asked to contact OSP Northern Command dispatchers at *677.
With no initial information released, numerous concerned area residents had been asking about what took place that prompted closure of Lone Pine Road near Skull Hollow Campground.
