Ex-Redmond Cop Cops Plea For Selling PD’s Guns

A plea deal months in the making reached a conclusion Thursday as a former Redmond police lieutenant pleaded guilty to secretly selling the station?s guns for years.

After three delays, Larry Prince, 48, pleaded guilty before Deschutes County Circuit Judge Barbara Haslinger to five counts of theft, two counts of official misconduct and first-degree forgery.

Redmond city officials and police said they are glad the whole ordeal is coming to an end. While they wouldn’t comment on the sentencing, they are happy to move on.

Even though his sentencing isn’t until later this month, the DA’s office says he’ll get just two months in jail, five years of probation and will have to give up all weapons and ammunition.

And if that is the sentence, some say it’s too light.

“Not long — it’s minor, it should have been a lot longer, for sure — it should be a lot longer,” Redmond resident Jessica Furry said.

Probably no one has taken the case harder then Redmond Police Chief Dave Tarbet.

“The one thing is that we are going to be held responsible for one person’s actions,” he said. “But we’ve got to remember it was that one person that made the choice, it wasn’t every policeman in this department. It was the one person who made the choice, and he’s being held accountable.”

Since he moved from interim to full-time chief, Tarbet says he’s been working to help his department move forward.

“We are beyond the worst, I think. It’s time to write some new history,” Tarbet said.

Redmond City Manager David Brandt says the police department handled the situation very quickly, and very well. He says the city is also moving forward.

“We focused on how to improve our processes, so that we don’t end up having somebody do this to us again, and we’ve done a very good job of that,” Brandt said.

As for any restitution, Brandt says they hope they get some.

“It’s important that the residents of Redmond get their tax money back,” he said. “He stole from the citizens of Redmond, we are all the victim of that.”

Prince had been placed on paid administrative leave Dec. 30, while Police Chief Dave Tarbet had Oregon State Police investigate “irregularities and discrepancies” in the agency’s firearms inventory, and the armory Prince was in charge of.

He was arrested in early February in Coos Bay and initially faced 18 counts each of first-degree theft and official misconduct and one count of first-degree forgery.

Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 25. Prosecutors say he?s expected to receive a 60-day jail term and five years probation, along with having to forfeit all weapons and ammunition.

Prince also will have to write an apology letter to the Redmond Police Department and will lose all of his police certification, so he can never serve again.

Now, prosecutors and Prince?s lawyers will have to figure out how he?ll pay back a long list of victims.