DCSO deputy shoots, kills Springfield man at campsite SW of Bend
(Update: Adding video, more details)
A Springfield man with a long criminal history was shot and killed by one of two Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies responding to a report of a disturbance and shots fired at a campsite in the Deschutes National Forest southwest of Bend, authorities said Thursday.
Deschutes County District Attorney John Hummel, joined by Sheriff Shane Nelson and others at the scene, said Deputy Randy Zilk, a 13-year veteran of the sheriff’s office, fired one shot that killed Jesse Wade Powell, 44.
A woman hiking in the area had heard a confrontation between a male and female, then heard gunshots and contacted authorities around 6:20 p.m., Hummel said. The fatal shooting occurred at 6:44 p.m. at a camp off Forest Service Road 4610 just north of Century Drive and about eight miles southwest of Bend. Hummel said Zilk quickly told dispatchers he had fired his weapon.
Officials would not provide details on the sequence of events that led up to it, citing the ongoing investigation. They also would not say if any weapons had been recovered at the scene, only that Zilk’s gunshot was the only shot fired.
They said Powell had a long criminal history and that a U-Haul truck, camp trailer, motorcycle and camper he had in the woods had been reported stolen in Deschutes County. A large area was marked off with crime scene tape Thursday; the district attorney said the fatal shooting occurred at the site of the U-Haul truck.
An autopsy was underway Thursday at the state Medical Examiner’s Office near Portland, Hummel said.
Zilk has not been interviewed yet, officials said at the late-morning news conference, but has been placed on paid administrative leave, along with the other deputy, Liam Klatt, who was on the scene, as is standard practice in such cases.
The woman involved in the apparent dispute left before deputies arrived but later was contacted by deputies, Hummel said. The hiker who called in the dispute and reported shots fired also was not in the area when deputies arrived.
Court records show Powell was arrested on numerous charges in Lane County between 1993 and 2003, ranging from burglary and theft to rape and sex abuse, criminal mischief, menacing and eluding police. Several led to convictions.
Last October, Springfield police arrested Powell on misdemeanor charges of first-degree disorderly conduct and unlawful possession of a hoax device in a bomb scare at a debt collection call center. What appeared to be two sticks of dynamite attached to a cellphone later was found to be two road flares and electrical tape connected to a digital recorder.
Powell pleaded guilty to the hoax device charge in December and was sentenced to 45 days in jail and three years probation.
Nelson told NewsChannel 21 at the scene Wednesday night that after the shooting, “The two deputies on scene performed CPR and rendered first aid.”
The Central Oregon Major Incident Team was called to the scene, Sgt. William Bailey said in a news release, adding, “Our deputy was not injured.”
