NE Bend Motel Room Raided for 2nd Time in Month

Less than a month after Bend police raided a NE Division Street motel room in a successful hunt for stolen property, the same motel room was raided by drug agents and four people were arrested, the Central Oregon Drug Enforcement Team reported Thursday.

CODE Team detectives executed a search warrant around 3 p.m. on Wednesday, April 18 at Unit 8 of the Bend Value Inn, at 2346 NE Division St., said Lt. Ken Mannix.

The raid resulted from a short-term investigation into distribution of street-level quantities of methamphetamine from that location, Mannix said.

William Meitz, 55; Cassie Kealiher, 27; Tobie Holland, 38; and Amanda Swartout, 33, were arrested and taken to the Deschutes County Jail.

Before the raid, detectives set up surveillance at various locations associated with the suspects, Mannix said. The raid resulted from the information they gathered, including contacting people frequenting the area of the motel, he said.

During the raid, detectives seized about four grams of methamphetamine, a small amount of marijuana, packaging material, drug records, meth pipes and other evidence, Mannix said.

Detectives also learned that the suspects were aware of police presence before the raid and destroyed portions of the evidence/contraband, which led to additional charges of tampering with evidence, the lieutenant said.

On March 22, Bend police conducted an unrelated raid on the same motel unit as part of an investigation into property-related crimes around the city, Mannix said.

Stolen property was recovered, and Kealiher was arrested on various theft charges, while Meitz was arrested for meth possession.

Meitz, Kealiher and Swartout remained in the Bend jail Thursday on drug and other charges, held on $5,000 to $10,000 bail. Holland was given conditional release the day after his arrest, pending a May 8 court date, a jail officer said.