Bend man cited, handgun seized in ‘road rage’ incident

A Bend man who allegedly pulled a handgun during a “road rage” incident Tuesday morning along North Highway 97 was pulled over by police minutes later in a guns-drawn traffic stop on the south end of town, cited for menacing and his gun was seized.

Steven Benedict Peters, 61, was charged with pulling the gun and confronting another Bend man after both stopped along the highway shortly after 7 a.m. near the Conoco gas station at 62980 North Highway 97, said Lt. Clint Burleigh.

The victim reported Peters pulled a handgun from his waistband during the dispute. He said Peters never got out of his 2010 Ford pickup truck, but pulled the gun out high enough where the victim, standing in the parking lot, could see it.

Peters left the scene before police arrived, but witnesses were able to give an accurate description of the incident and the truck he left in, Burleigh said.

Oregon State Police spotted the pickup heading south on the Bend Parkway, near Murphy Road, and along with Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies initiated a high-risk, or “felony stop,” due to the reported use of a gun in the earlier dispute, the lieutenant said.

Peters was taken into custody without incident and was found to be in possession of a semi-automatic handgun, which he legally possessed and carried, but was seized as evidence.

Burleigh said Peters was issued a citation for menacing, based on the statements from witnesses and the victim.

Burleigh said “road rage” incidents are somewhat of a “daily occurrence” around Bend, but he added that use of a gun in such confrontations remains “pretty rare.” He said there were conflicting statements about what what happened in the parking lot, but the gun was not displayed until after the two drivers pulled over.

“We’re not really seeing a rise in road rage” incidents, Burleigh told NewsChannel 21, but he said they “unfortunately happen too often.”

“When you get to be a city of the size we have, more people become impatient” on the roads, the lieutenant added.