Bend, Redmond raids: 2 arrests, $10K worth of stolen items

Raids carried out Thursday on homes in Bend and Redmond led to the arrest of two men and the recovery of about $10,000 worth of items stolen in thefts from parked, unlocked cars around Bend in recent months, including credit cards fraudulently used dozens of times around the area, police said Friday.

Over the past two months, the Bend Police Department’s Intelligence-Led Policing Unit had noticed a pattern of vehicles being broken into in the area of Northwest College Way and Regency Place, Lt. Clint Burleigh said.

Items also were stolen in other locations from cars in parking lots and parked on roads, including credit cards, speakers, light bars, sports equipment and tools.

Bend police found stolen credit cards were used at around 25 businesses in the Bend-Redmond area, with some being used several times, for a total of 36 fraudulent credit card transactions.

Through video surveillance, ILP Team officers identified the suspects using the stolen credit cards as Jonathan Nickless, 22, of Bend, and Matthew New, 22, of Redmond, Burleigh said.

Around 4:20 p.m. Thursday, Bend police and Central Oregon Drug Enforcement Team members contacted and arrested the two men outside a duplex in the 2700 block of Northeast Broken Bow Drive in Bend, Burleigh said.

Officers also had requested and were issued a search warrant for the duplex, where Burleigh said officers recovered stolen property matching that as listed as stolen from the reported thefts, including construction equipment.

Shortly before 8 p.m., Bend police served another search warrant at a home in the 500 block of Northeast Larch Avenue in Redmond. There, Burleigh said officers recovered more stolen property, including construction equipment and items bought with the stolen credit cards.

Burleigh said Bend police have been able to close several theft cases and are working on returning property to its owners.

The two men were booked into the Deschutes County Jail, each facing seven counts of unlawful entry into motor vehicles, one count of first-degree theft and 36 counts each of fraudulent use of a credit card and ID theft. As the investigation continues, more charges against them are possible, Burleigh said.

Both men were being held on $75,000 bail on the charges Friday, but Nickless was held without bail for probation violation.

“The Bend Police Department would like to encourage our community to file a report if they have had thefts from their vehicles,” Burleigh said in a news release.

“Our Intelligence-Led Policing Team is continually monitoring criminal reports to try to identify problems that affect the livability in our community,” he wrote. “Reporting can be done through contacting Deschutes County non-emergency dispatch at 541-693-6911 or through an online reporting site at https://www.bendoregon.gov/government/departments/police/online-tools/online-police-report.”