Charges filed in Redmond assault that led to standoff

Deschutes County District Attorney John Hummel filed charges Monday against a Redmond man accused of hitting his girlfriend on the head with a gun last Friday near the entrance to Obsidian Middle School. The alleged assault prompted a lockout and evacuation, standoff, SWAT team call-out and the suspect’s eventual surrender.

Steven Arce, 29, was charged in the DA’s initial court filing, called an information, with second-degree assault, unlawful use of a weapon and menacing constituting domestic violence, Hummel said.

Redmond police went to the school around 12:20 p.m. Friday on a report that a woman near the school’s entrance had called 911 and said her boyfriend hit her in the head with a gun.

When police contacted the woman, “she was bleeding from her head, had a visible bruise on her shoulder and other injuries,” Hummel said in a news release. Redmond Fire medics took her to St. Charles Redmond for treatment.

Arce was taken into custody by the Central Oregon Emergency Response (CERT) team after he initially refused to come out of his home, the DA said. Negotiators eventually arranged his peaceful surrender, and a search of his home turned up a Glock handgun matching the description given by the victim, Hummel said.

There were initial, unconfirmed reports that the woman said Arce had shot out her car tire, but Monday’s charges don’t reflect such an occurrence. Redmond police Lt. Curtis Chambers said they are “still investigating that information.”

Hummel said, “Domestic violence is a persistent problem in our community, so we need to do more to help women feel and be safe. To break the cycle of violence, we need to continue and enhance our coordinated work in the areas of prevention, intervention and support.”

Arce remained lodged in the county jail in Bend Monday, held on $70,000 bail. Hummel said the case will be presented to a grand jury this week for formal charges, and he’s due for arraignment on an expected indictment next Monday.