Robbery suspect chased by Bend, Redmond police, arrested

(Update: Adding video, comment from area resident)

A Bend-area man who allegedly robbed a couple at gunpoint in an alley Saturday night, hitting one on the head, led a police officer on a high-speed pursuit north on Highway 97, then led Redmond officers on another chase before being found hiding in a yard and arrested, officers said.

Officers were dispatched around 8:15 p.m. to the area behind the Grocery Outlet and Rite-Aid at 694 Southeast Third Street after police received a report of a robbery that had just occurred, Bend police Sgt. Todd Fletcher said.

Their investigation found that a man identified as Jesse Lyn Kline, 36, a resident of Deschutes River Woods, had approached a man and woman in their 50s in the alley just east of the two stores, Fletcher said.

Kline reportedly was armed with a gun and demanded money, the sergeant said. After threatening the pair with a gun, he allegedly struck the man in the head with the gun. The 53-year-old man was treated at the scene by Bend Fire Department medics and released.

Kline was last seen leaving the area in a white van with what Fletcher termed “property and an undisclosed amount of money belonging to the victims.” The pair were able to provide Deschutes County 911 dispatchers with a description of the robber and the van.

About 15 minutes later, a Bend police officer spotted a van matching that description heading north on Highway 97 from Bend, Fletcher said.

The van stopped in the area of Highway 97 and Southwest 61 st Street, south of Redmond. But as the officer tried to contact the driver, the man sped off, heading north on the highway, Fletcher said.

The Bend officer pursued the van northbound on the highway at speeds reaching 80-90 mph, the sergeant said. As the van entered Redmond, the officer terminated the pursuit.

A short time later, Redmond police officers spotted the van and tried to stop it, but again, Kline failed to stop, Fletcher said.

The pursuit continued around Redmond until the driver stopped and ran, prompting a search of the area by several officers.

About 10 minutes later, officers found Kline hiding in a yard near the intersection of Southwest Salmon Avenue and 23 rd Street, Fletcher said.

A nearby resident said she and her daughter saw the suspect placed in a police car after his capture.

“It was very chaotic,” Sarah Hagen recalled later Sunday. “There were police everywhere, there were people everywhere, walking up and down the street, of course, taking photos, and being curious. The police were trying to get everybody to stay back. The sirens were still going off at that time. And then finally, when they caught him, things were starting to die down a bit.”

Kline was arrested and taken to the county jail in Bend, where he remained held without bail Sunday on a parole violation and facing new charges: second-degree assault, felon in possession of a firearm, felony and misdemeanor attempt to elude, misdemeanor driving with a suspended license, and two counts each of first-degree robbery, pointing a firearm at another, unlawful use of a weapon and reckless endangering. Bail on those charges totaled $320,000.

With the investigation ongoing, anyone with information that could help in the investigation was asked to contact Bend police through 911 dispatch at 541-693-6911.

Bend police were assisted by Redmond officers, Oregon State Police troopers and Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies, Fletcher said.

Online court records show Kline was arrested in January 2016 on charges including DUII, reckless driving and recklessly endangering another person. His sentence included a 15-day jail term, a three-year license suspension and two years of monitored probation. He also was arrested on a misdemeanor DUII charge in July 2015.