Two arrests in Bend, La Pine construction site thefts

(Update: Correcting brewery who owns trailer)

Two men, from La Pine and Bend, face theft and drug charges after a raid turned up tools and utility trailers stolen recently from several area construction sites, as well as a trailer from Silver Moon Brewing, police said Thursday.

During the first week of January, Bend police learned of several construction site thefts at various locations around the city, Lt. Clint Burleigh said. Items stolen from the construction sites included power tools, hand tools and utility trailers.

Officers from Bend PD’s Intelligence Led Policing detail started compiling information, Burleigh said and were able to identify a suspect in the thefts.

Jason Russell Girod, 46, of La Pine, was identified as a person of interest in the thefts. Using several investigative techniques, the officers were able to obtain enough information for a search warrant of Girod’s home, in the 16000 block of Green Forest Road in La Pine.

Shortly before 9 a.m. Wednesday, police pulled over Girod’s 1999 Dodge pickup, pulling an enclosed utility trailer, on State Rec Road near South Highway 97, Burleigh said. He was accompanied by a passenger, Steven Alan Mock, 47, of Bend.

During a subsequent search of the vehicle, the trailer and Girod’s home, over $15,000 worth of stolen tools were recovered, the lieutenant said. Some of the stolen property was located inside the trailer, which was legally owned by Girod, and more than four grams of suspected methamphetamine was found in Girod’s pickup.

A search warrant was served at Girod’s home just after 9 a.m. Wednesday and two stolen utility trailers were recovered on his property.

During the investigation, stolen property was recovered from at least four construction site thefts, one Tuesday night at a site in La Pine. Burleigh said one of the recovered trailers was not from a construction location but from Silver Moon Brewing in Bend.

More stolen property was identified and is being matched to other cases, Burleigh said.

Girod was taken to the Deschutes County Jail, where he was booked on two counts of unauthorized use of a vehicle for the trailer thefts, felony meth possession and first-degree theft, aggravated theft and theft by receiving.

Mock initially was charged with first-degree theft, for the La Pine theft, and felony meth possession. He was taken to St. Charles Bend for a medical evaluation and released by citation to appear in court.

Both men have had numerous arrests in the past on theft and other charges, court records showed.

Burleigh said Bend police want to thank the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office for their assistance during the arrest of the two men.

He said the Bend Police Intelligence Led Policing unit is committed to working with community members to improve the city’s quality of life.