Intruder on the run from police frightens Bend couple

A southeast Bend couple had a big scare early Thursday when their doorbell rang around 12:30 a.m. and a man at their door pushed his way in.

Steve and Lisa Craft were fast asleep in their home on Aberdeen Drive when their frightening incident began.

“The doorbell rang, and I got up and went to my front door, and there wasn’t anyone to be seen,” Steve said later. “I opened the door, and he just walked in and I was taken aback.”

Steve said the man started rambling about how he needed help and wanted Steve and Lisa to hide him from the police, who were just around the corner, looking for him.

Police said the intruder was 45-year-old Leonidas Herrera, who was arrested on criminal mischief charges. He was in custody for about a day, until he was released Thursday evening.

Steve Craft said Herrera appeared agitated, strung out and didn’t blink at all, once he was inside the home.

“As soon as everything was a little more clear, I told him to get out of my house,” Steve said. “I was also starting to get a little afraid, because I didn’t know if he had a knife or gun.”

Bend police already had received calls about a man knocking on doors in the neighborhood. They said he was intoxicated and most likely confused.

In recent years, they said, an incident like this is nothing out of the ordinary.

For the Crafts, the scare was disheartening, because while they were unharmed, it confirmed how Bend has changed over the years from a small town to a larger city.

“We’ve been here a long time, and we have seen it change, but this was up close and personal,” Steve said. “It was late at night, so we’re fortunate that it went off the way it did.”

The couple said they shared their story in the hope that it doesn’t happen to anyone else. Lisa Craft declined to appear on camera for personal reasons.