Armed standoff in La Pine ends peacefully

(Update: Suspect posts bail, released from jail)

A reportedly intoxicated 34-year-old La Pine man went to his mother’s hair salon with a rifle and damaged its interior Friday evening, prompting evacuation of a nearby restaurant and other businesses, Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies said. The man eventually agreed to come out and surrendered peacefully to deputies, about 90 minutes after the standoff began.

Deputies were dispatched around 6:20 p.m. to the report of an intoxicated man at Hair Design by Deena at 54190 Highway 97, said Sgt. William Bailey.

It was reported that Joseph Cleveland “was tearing up the inside of the business and had armed himself with a firearm,” Bailey wrote in a news release. Cleveland’s mother, who called deputies, was able to safely leave the business to a waiting deputy, he added.

The adjacent businesses, including the Cinco de Mayo Restaurant, were busy with patrons and car traffic at the time of the incident.

“Due to the immediate safety concerns for people in the area,” Bailey said, deputies, aided by Sunriver police and Oregon State Police, set up containment around the business and began evacuating citizens from the immediate area.

Attempts then were made to call into the business, with “loud hails,” and have Cleveland come out, Bailey said.

About 90 minutes after the initial 911 call, Cleveland walked out of the business and was taken into custody. A subsequent search inside turned up “an A/R-type firearm,” the sergeant said.

Based on an investigation at the scene, Cleveland was taken to the county jail in Bend and lodged on charges of first-degree criminal mischief and unlawful possession of a short-barreled rifle, Bailey said. He was held Saturday morning on $25,000 bail but was released early Saturday afternoon after posting 10 percent of that amount, a jail officer said.

Bailey also noted that information Cleveland had taken a hostage was unfounded, and no one was injured during the incident.