Three Men Jailed in La Pine Chase, Gunshots

An argument in the middle of Burgess Road in La Pine Saturday evening led to a chase during which shots were fired from one car toward another, authorities said. The driver was stopped and arrested, while two passengers who ran were found hiding in a vacant home and held at gunpoint by a caretaker until their arrest.

Around 5 p.m., Deschutes County 911 dispatchers got a call reporting several people were standing in the middle of Burgess Road, having a verbal argument, said Sgt. Chad Davis.

The group was seen leaving the area in their vehicles. But 911 later received a cut-off cell phone call reporting one car was being chased by another and shot at by someone in it, Davis said.

Deputies were able to find the suspects? vehicle, a silver 2005 Chrysler Sebring, and pulled it over on Dorrance Meadow Road near Burgess Road, the sergeant said.

As the car slowed down, two passengers got out and ran, Davis said. The driver, Keith Allen Schmidtke, 35, of Sisters, was taken into custody as a search began for the passengers, later identified as Tim Ryan Sole, 30, and Jared Edward Pickett, 33, both of La Pine.

An Oregon State Police trooper notified residents in the area of Burgess and Old Stage roads to be on the lookout for suspicious males, Davis said.

One citizen decided to check a vacant house he was taking care of and found the two men, Davis said. He was armed with a gun and held the suspects at gunpoint, called 911 and awaited the arrival of deputies, who took Pickett and Sole into custody.

Those involved told deputies the three suspects engaged them in a verbal dispute and displayed a black handgun while the victims were pulled over on Burgess Road

A man and woman, both La Pine residents, were in the allegedly targeted car, along with three youngsters, Davis said.

The woman at the wheel of the man’s car said she began to leave the area and the suspects began to chase their car. She said at one point, Sole pointed a handgun out the right front window and fired the pistol in the direction of their car.

The victims were able to call 911 to report the incident as they were driving, bringing deputies to the scene. No injuries were reported, Davis said, and there was no evidence the victims car was struck.

Only a BB gun was found in Schmidtke?s care at the time of his arrest, Davis said, leading investigators to believe a gun had been tossed by the suspects as they ran.

A Redmond police K-9 team was called in to research the area where Sole and Pickett were found, Davis said. They found a Glock 9mm handgun and loaded magazine, which were seized as evidence.

All three suspects were taken to the county jail in Bend. Sole faces the most charges — 19 — and is being held on $97,500 bail, facing five counts each of first-degree attempted assault, menacing and recklessly endangering another person, along with single counts of first-degree attempted robbery, felony in possession of a firearm unlawful possession of a firearm and unlawful use of a weapon.

Schmidtke was held on $80,000, facing a dozen charges, including first-degree attempted robbery, felony in possession of a firearm and five counts each of menacing and recklessly endangering another person.

Pickett was held without bail on a probation violation charge and a new charge of first-degree criminal trespass.