Tips, K-9 help nab 2 hiding burglary suspects NE of Bend

A homeowner northeast of Bend arrived home Monday morning to hear people inside and called 911, bringing out Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies and their tracking dog Ezel, who with the help of citizen tips found two burglary suspects hiding in a neighbor’s shed.

Deputies were dispatched around 8:40 a.m. on a report of a possible burglary in progress call on Gentry Loop. The victim reported hearing people inside upon returning home, said Sgt. Aaron Harding.

Deputies, aided by Oregon State Police, set up a perimeter and checked the home, determining whoever was inside had ran before deputies arrived, Harding said.

Citizens in the area offered tips that led to a search by sheriff’s K-9 Ezel and his handler, Deputy Jeremiah Johnson. They eventually found Daniel Joseph Webb, 49, of Bend, and Charles Anthony Mansfield, 27, of La Pine hiding in a shed on a nearby property, Harding said.

At first, the two men refused to come out, but deputies breached the door and deployed pepper spray into the shed – and after that, they cooperated with deputies and were taken into custody without further incident.

Mansfield was evaluated at the scene by Bend Fire Department paramedics for exposure to OC (pepper spray). The two men then were taken to the county jail and held without bail on parole violations.

Both men were charged with first-degree burglary; Webb also is charged with driving with a suspended license, methamphetamine possession and two outstanding parole violation warrants.

Harding said the sheriff’s office wanted to thank the citizens who reported suspicious circumstances that led to the arrests. He said Bend police also assisted on the call.