Bend man accused of firing shots in air; gun found by road
A Bend man who allegedly pulled a gun during a dispute in Deschutes River Woods late Tuesday night and fired it three times in the air as he left was arrested in a guns-drawn traffic stop, Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies said Wednesday.
A handgun believed to have been used in the crime was found by searchers Wednesday morning along Brookswood Boulevard, they added.
Around 11 p.m., a resident in the 58000 block of Cheyenne Road called police to report three people unknown to them had come to their home to recover some personal property, said sheriff’s Lt. Chad Davis.
An argument began and one of the three, identified as William Paden Hill, 27, allegedly pointed a black handgun at three people in the home, Davis said.
Hill and the other two, a man and a woman, were ordered to leave the property by the residents, and they did so. But as Hill drove away with his passengers, he fired the gun three times into the air, Davis said. No one was injured and no property damage has been reported.
Bend police were alerted to the incident and given a description of the vehicle. Officers spotted it on Southeast Third Street and Reed Market Road and conducted a high-risk traffic stop, detaining the three occupants. Davis said.
Officers found evidence Hill had fired rounds from inside his vehicle, but the handgun was not found. Davis said they did find a small amount of heroin.
Hill was arrested and taken to the Deschutes County Jail, where he was held without bail on a parole violation, records showed. He also faces charges of unlawful use of a weapon, three counts of menacing, felon in possession of a firearm and heroin possession. Davis said the two passengers were released with no charges.
“As part of the investigation and out of concern for the public’s safety, sheriff’s deputies determined it was important to search the area to recover the handgun,” as it includes rural and urban residential and commercial property.
Shortly after 7:30 a.m., a sheriff’s search and rescue deputy and eight Sheriff’s Search and Rescue Volunteers responded to an area where the gun was believed to have been dumped. After about an hour of searching, a handgun believed to be the one involved was found along Brookswood Boulevard.
Any witnesses to the incident are asked to contact the sheriff’s office at 541-693-6911.
In June of 2013, Bend police contacted and arrested Hill in the Shopko parking lot, finding three handguns the convicted felon is not allowed to have, officers said. Two hours later, Central Oregon’s SWAT team raided his northeast Bend home and said they found two sawed-off shotguns, methamphetamine and a restricted knife.
