Prineville officer out of hospital after weekend attack

A Prineville police sergeant attacked by a hammer-wielding jewelry store burglary suspect of the weekend is out of the hospital, recovering from a major concussion, while prosecutors have filed initial charges including attempted aggravated murder against the suspect.

Around 3:45 a.m. Saturday, Sgt. Jimmy O’Daniel responded to a dispatched call of an alarm at Terry’s Jewelry on Third Street, said Sgt. Larry Seymour.

When he arrived, he found the front door had been smashed in and a suspect was still inside, Seymour said.

The suspect, later identified as Trevor Hugh Trollope, 25, of Prineville, attacked O’Daniel and struck him repeatedly with hammer blows to the head. He also bit the sergeant during their struggle, Seymour added.

Raun Atkinson, a Crook County deputy district attorney, was on a citizen ride-along at the time and went to help ODaniel. Seymour said Atkinson was able to get the hammer away from Trollope and help O’Daniel take the suspect into custody.

O’Daniel was taken to Pioneer Memorial Hospital with numerous head wounds and the bite wound, Seymour said.

Prineville Police Chief Les Stiles said Monday that O’Daniel was out of the hospital but home recovering from a “major concussion.” He added that the sergeant will be off work “for at least a couple of weeks.”

Trollope also was taken to the Prineville hospital for evaluation, then lodged at the Crook County Jail.

He was held without bail on numerous initial charges, including five counts each of attempted murder and first-degree assault and single counts of first-degree burglary, resisting arrest, first-degree aggravated theft and first-degree criminal mischief.

On Monday, Deputy DA Aaron Brenneman filed with the court an initial eight-count set of charges against Trollope, called an information.

They include one count each of attempted aggravated murder, attempted murder, first-degree assault, assaulting a public safety officer, first-degree burglary, first-degree aggravated theft, second-degree burglary and first-degree theft.

Four of the charges are Class A felonies, one Class B felony and three Class C felonies.

Trollope is tentatively scheduled to be arraigned on the formal charges Friday afternoon, after a grand jury takes up a likely indictment, prosecutors said.

A routine check for wants/warrants found that Trollope had an outstanding arrest warrant from the Oregon State Parole Board for parole violation on the original charge of second-degree robbery.

Closed signs covered the windows of the store on Saturday, but the one on the boarded-up front door said the store planned to reopen Monday.

DA Daina Vitolins said Atkinson doesn’t wish to speak about the incident, since the investigation is ongoing, but she added, “He is an absolute hero, in my opinion.”