Redmond couple arrested in Bend storage unit thefts

A Redmond couple face theft and other charges in connection with a string of 13 thefts from rental storage units around Bend, police said Friday.

The investigation began about a month and a half ago, after a Bend woman reported her storage unit had been broken in and $35,000 in cash, along with other valuables, had been stolen, said Officer Tommy Russell.

Security camera footage was obtained from the facility, which police did not name, and officers identified Michael Shawn Rupp, 40, as the suspect in the case, Russell said. Police learned Rupp and his wife, Kimberly Lyn Rupp, 41, rented two storage units in the same facility.

A search warrant for the Rupps’ home and their three rented units at two Bend facilities was executed last Saturday, during which property from 13 Bend storage unit burglaries reported to police was recovered. Some property was not recovered, Russell said, nor was any of the $35,000 in cash.

Kimberly Rupp was at home at the time of Saturday’s raid and was arrested by citation at the conclusion of the search. She’s charged with one count each of first-degree conspiracy to commit aggravated theft and methamphetamine possession, as well as four counts of endangering the welfare of a minor.

Michael Rupp was believed to be out of town at the time of last Saturday’s raid, Russell said. He turned himself in to Bend police late Wednesday afternoon and arrested in “a multitude of crimes stemming from the 13 reported burglaries,” Russell said in a news release.

Rupp remained lodged Friday at the Deschutes County Jail in Bend, charged with 58 counts included three counts each of first-degree aggravated theft and second-degree theft, seven counts of first-degree theft, 13 second-degree counts each of burglary, criminal trespass and criminal mischief, four counts of endangering the welfare of a minor and one count each of felon in possession of a firearm and meth possession.

Earlier this week, Bend police asked victims of storage unit burglaries to contact them, saying they had identified a suspect in cases dating back to 2010.

Police said Friday they are still looking for victims of storage unit thefts. Anyone who has been a burglary or theft victim from a storage unit and has not reported it is asked to call Bend police at (541) 322-2969.