Six arrested in Redmond drug-theft case, five in Bend

A traffic stop in northwest Redmond Monday evening led to a raid on a motel room, the seizure of drugs and weapons and the arrest of six Bend and Redmond residents, several of whom were wanted for violating parole or probation, police said Tuesday.

Redmond officers and the department’s Street Crimes Unit stopped a 1995 Jeep Grand Cherokee shortly after 7 p.m. at Northwest 35 th Street and Maple Avenue, said Lt. Mike Kidwell.

During the stop, a Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office drug-sniffing dog alerted to the presence of illegal drugs inside, Kidwell said. A search of the Jeep turned up nearly a gram of methamphetamine, marijuana extract, a gun with a ground-off serial number, a stolen laptop and a spring-assisted knife, the lieutenant said.

Officers also searched a room at The Hub Motel, 1128 Northwest Sixth Street, and found more than 18 grams of meth and $1,800 in cash.

Six people were arrested: Bend residents Robert James Laird, 38, Cynthia Marie Laird, 44, and Misty Dawn Cade, 26, all of Bend, and three Redmond residents: Ashley Brooke Yarber, 32, Steven Edward Stout, 36, and Edward Picacio Benavides, 53. All but Benavides were in the Jeep, officers said; he was arrested near the motel.

Robert Laird was held without bail on a probation violation as well as meth possession. Cynthia Laird is charged with being a felon in pssession of a weapon, altering the ID number on a gun and meth possession. Her bail is $5,000, according to jail records. Cade was held without bail on an out-of-county warrant, as well as meth possession.

Yarber was held without bail on a probation violation, also charged with first-degree theft by receiving and giving false information to a police officer. Stout also was held without bail on a parole violation, also charged with giving false information to an officer and felon in possession of a restricted weapon. Benvavides faces two counts of meth delivery and one of possession, with bail of $10,000.

Kidwell asked anyone in the community with drug information to share to contact police at (541) 504-3400 or through the county’s non-emergency dispatch number at (541) 693-6911.

Meanwhile, the Central Oregon Drug Enforcement Team on Tuesday reported the arrest of five people last Wednesday as they raided a northeast Bend home and wrapped up a nearly month-long investigation into street-level drug sales throughout the county.

CODE Team detectives executed the search around 6 p.m. on Nov. 11 at 61670 Southeast 27 th Street. Lt. Ken Mannix said the investigation found that Jenna Olmsted, 30, of Bend, “was supplying a large number of individuals with heroin and methamphetamine on a regular basis.”

Bend police, along with CODE Team detectives, contacted Felicia Williams, 21, of Salem, and Joshua Cheney, 25, of Bend, as they left the residence in an SUV, Mannix said. A search of the GMC “Jimmy” turned up user amounts of meth and heroin, as well as drug paraphernalia, psilocybin mushrooms, prescription pills and drug record.

Shortly before 3 p.m., detectives contacted Olmsted and Bobby Brittle, 32, of Bend, as they left the home in a Honda Accord. A drug-detection dog alerted to the presence of drugs in the car, and a search turned up user amounts of meth and heroin, drug paraphernalia, scales and cash, Mannix said.

Detectives, assisted by sheriff’s deputies, Bend police and Oregon State Police, executed the search warrant on the home around 6 p.m. and contacted Christopher Farrar, 23, inside the home, taking him into custody without incident.

Mannix said evidence seized at the home included user amounts of heroin, drug paraphernalia, scales, packaging material and other evidence of meth and heroin sales, manufacturing and distribution.