Knife-wielding Bend 7-Eleven robbery suspect caught fast

A 21-year-old man pulled a knife and demanded money from employees at a northeast Bend 7-Eleven Thursday evening, but they refused, so he ran away empty-handed — and a customer who followed the suspect in a car helped officers find and arrest him four minutes later, police said.

Officers responded shortly before 6 p.m. to the reported armed robbery at the 7-Eleven at 810 NE Greenwood Avenue, Corporal Kyle Voll said.

The suspect, later identified as Bend-area resident Nathaniel McLain, was armed with a knife and demanded cash from the workers, but Voll said they refused to give him any money.

McLain then ran from the convenience store, Voll said, but a citizen who was there followed the suspect in a car and helped alert police to his location. Officers found and arrested him without incident within four minutes of the call at Northeast 10th Street and Norton Avenue.

McLain had discarded the knife while on the run, but Bend Police K-9 Rony and his partner, Officer Victor Umnitz, recovered the weapon, Voll said.

McLain was taken to the Deschutes County Jail and booked on charges of first-degree robbery, unlawful use of a weapon and menacing. His initial bail was set at $115,000, jail records showed.

Voll asked anyone with more information to contact police. He said Bend Police want to thank the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office and Oregon State Police for their assistance in the case.