Salem man, Bend woman jailed after chase, manhunt

A suspected drug trafficker from Salem who eluded pursuing police and a manhunt east of Bend last week was arrested the next morning, along with a Bend woman, in a car stopped by police. They said they also found methamphetamine, heroin and the woman’s young daughter, who was taken into protective custody.

Central Oregon Drug Enforcement (CODE) Team detectives began an investigation in June into Kristine Kyner, 36, said Lt. Ken Mannix. They also identified Chad Pomelow, 37, of Salem, as someone who frequented her home and was involved in trafficking narcotics in Deschutes County, Mannix said.

Mannix noted that Kyner had been the subject of previous CODE Team drug investigations, including a prior arrest and raid in April of 2013.

Last Wednesday, detectives learned Pomelow was returning from the Salem area with some heroin, Mannix said. They conducted surveillance and watched around 3 a.m. Thursday as Pomelow traveled to a home near the Bend Airport east of town.

Detectives, assisted by Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies and the Central Oregon Emergency Response Team (CERT), tried to stop Pomelow’s silver four-door Cadillac, which was sitting in a driveway, with him at the wheel.

But Pomelow disregarded all police commands and recklessly drove away, nearly hitting several detectives’ cars, Mannix said.

As he fled on the Powell Butte Highway, a sheriff’s deputy successfully deployed spike strips to stop the car. With two flat tires, Pomelow was able to drive to the area of Nelson and Butler Market roads, when he pulled into a driveway and ran, the lieutenant said.

For nearly two hours, an extensive search was conducted by sheriff’s deputies, Bend officers and a Redmond police K-9 team, but he was not found.

Around 6 a.m. Thursday, detectives again conducting surveillance followed Kyner’s Volvo SUV from her home on Northeast Barton Crossing Way in Bend to the area of Nelson Road east of town. Mannix said they believed she might be helping Pomelow evade police.

Around 6:30 a.m Thursday, Kyner left the area, and a high-risk (guns drawn) traffic stop took place at the intersection of Northeast 27 th Street and Butler Market Road.

Mannix said Pomelow was in the passenger’s seat, having lowered the seat back to lay flat so he could not be seen from outside the car. He was taken into custody without incident, as was Kyner, whose 6-year-old daughter also was in the car and was taken into protective custody. User amounts of heroin and meth were found in the car.

Around 7:20 a.m., detectives executed a drug-related search warrant at Kyner’s home on Barton Crossing Way, again finding user amounts of heroin and meth.

Pomelow remained held without bail Tuesday at the Deschutes County Jail, on a parole violation. He faces charges including felony and misdemeanor attempt to elude, reckless driving, eight counts of reckless endangering, second-degree criminal mischief and first-degree attempted assault. His current charges don’t involve drugs, but Mannix said the investigation was continuing.

Kyner also was still in jail, held on $10,000 bail and facing charges of heroin and meth possession, hindering prosecution and first-degree child neglect.