Fugitive chase near Redmond ends in crash, arrest

A Redmond fugitive who had threatened police and his parole officer refused to pull over Thursday morning, sparking an on-and-off chase from southwest Redmond into the Terrebonne area that ended when his SUV crashed into an OSP pickup truck, police said.

The pursuit began around 10:45 a.m. after the driver of a black Chevy Suburban refused to pull over for a traffic stop on SW Obsidian Avenue near 27 th Street, said Lt. Nathan Garibay.

He was identified as Michael Lee Hanson, 34, who was wanted for parole violation on an original kidnap charge, as well as theft and attempting to elude a police officer. Garibay said he had previously claimed to be armed and made threats toward police officers and his parole officer.

Garibay said Hanson had said previously he was “armed and wouldn’t give up without a fight, and was going to take some of us with him.”

After Hanson took off, the officer pursued him west out of Redmond, but he circled back toward Redmond on Hwy. 126, Garibay said. During that chase, Hanson drove “at a high rate of speed and recklessly,” Garibay said.

Garibay said in an update Thursday night that during the chase, Hanson at least twice displayed what appeared to be a handgun to officers in a threatening manner. However, he said it later was determined it was not a firearm, but an Airsoft or similar type gun.

For the public’s safety, officers discontinued the initial pursuit before entering Redmond, Garibay said.

A short time later, a Deschutes County sheriff’s deputy spotted the Suburban and tried to stop it in a rural area northwest of Redmond, but he again refused to pull over, Garibay said.

Hanson was tracked to an undeveloped area northwest of the Tetherow Crossing subdivision, where he was “contained” by officers from numerous agencies, including Oregon State Police, Bend police, Jefferson County sheriff’s deputies and the BLM, Garibay said.

As Hanson tried to flee the area and pull onto Northwest 31 st Street, his SUV collided with an OSP trooper’s pickup truck, Garibay said. Hanson was taken into custody without further incident.

Hanson was lodged in the county jail in Bend on new charges of felony attempt to elude a police officer, recklessly endangering another person and reckless driving.

Other previous charges listed in jail records included three counts of perjury, theft, ID theft and forgery. Garibay said more charges are possible as the investigation continues.

Asked about the threats to police and other public safety officers, Garibay said, “That’s not that uncommon. Of course, we do take it seriously, especially in light of national events. However, we don’t allow them to prevent us from doing our job.”