Raid on SW Redmond ‘drug house’ not the first

A guns-drawn traffic stop of a stolen pickup truck in southwest Redmond led to a drug raid on a home, the recovery of a stolen rifle and other items and the arrests of five Redmond residents, police said Tuesday.

And it’s not the first raid on that particular “drug house,” police and neighbors said Wednesday.

Neighbors who did not wish to go on camera or be identified told NewsChannel 21 Wednesday they are fed up with the problem house.

A neighbor who has lived in the area for more than five years said the house has always been a problem.

NewsChannel 21 reported on an August 2010 raid of the same house that led to eight arrests. (See the original story in the sidebar to this article.)

Police said they began surveillance on the home after a neighbor called and complained of constant traffic and suspicious activity.

Redmond police crime team Sgt. Eric Beckwith says neighbors have been a huge help with this investigation.

“Essentially, some of those operations didn’t yield much. But earlier this week, we did observe a reported stolen vehicle parked in the driveway of the residence,” Beckwith said.

Officers found and stopped the pickup, reported stolen a week earlier, around 2:45 p.m. Monday on Southwest Highland Avenue near 23 rd Street, said Sgt. Curtis Chambers. At the time of the theft, it was acting as a temporary home for its owner, and had a camper on it, as well as a rifle inside, he said. Both were gone when it was found.

A “high-risk” traffic stop was conducted and police ordered the three occupants out of the truck, momentarily blocking traffic on 23 rd Street south of Highland, Chambers said. Arrested were driver Austin Hemphill, 22, and passengers Tyirez Frost, 23, and a 17-year-old girl, the latter two referred to as area transients.

Hemphill was arrested on charges of possession and unauthorized use of a vehicle, three counts of first-degree theft and two counts of second-degree criminal mischief. He remained Tuesday at the Deschutes County Jail in Bend, held on $160,000 bail.

Frost was arrested by citation on a charge of first-degree theft, accused of selling the stolen rifle to an area business, where it was later recovered, Chambers said. The teen girl was arrested on a charge of carrying a concealed weapon.

The investigation led to a search warrant execution Monday evening on a home at 713 S.W. 26 th Street, the sergeant said. More items related to the stolen pickup investigation were found, as well as property believed to have been stolen in other Redmond-area thefts.

Michael Mickelson, 18, was arrested at the home on charges of methamphetamine manufacture and possession, as well as frequenting a place where drugs are used. He was booked into the Bend jail and released on his own recognizance on Tuesday, a jail officer said.

Sara Gittins, 38, was contacted and arrested on BLM land east of Redmond, near where the camper was found. Chambers said it was “significantly damaged” by the suspects when they tried to remove it from the pickup, and it’s unlikely to be used again.

Gittins is charged with unauthorized use and possession of a vehicle, first-degree theft and two counts of second-degree criminal mischief. She was being held at the county jail in Bend without bail on a probation violation.

“Drug use, abuse and sales continue to be a root cause of a great number of property crimes committed in our community,” Chambers said in the news release.

Sgt. Beckwith said they’re not going to give up on a drug house or a continued problem. And concerned neighbors should continue putting the pressure on authorities to address these problem houses.

“I would say it’s extremely important for them to continue to call and be vigilant in what they’re observing,” he said. “Detailed in their description of the activity that they’re most concerned about. That’s going to give us the best opportunity to make an immediate impact on issues community members are dealing with.”

Chambers said in the news release, “Persons addicted to a substance often attempt to support their addiction through theft, proceeds from theft and trading of stolen property. If you, or you know of someone, who is addicted to a substance, treatment is available through various treatment providers, both in-patient and out-patient, in Central Oregon and throughout Oregon.”