Two arrests on drug, weapons charges in NE Bend traffic stop

Drug agents conducted a guns-drawn traffic stop at a busy northeast Bend intersection Monday afternoon and arrested two of four men in a car on drug and weapons charges, one also accused of “pistol-whipping” another man earlier in the day, officials said.

The Central Oregon Drug Enforcement Team pulled over a vehicle in the area of Northeast Eighth Street and Greenwood Avenue around 1:30 p.m. and arrested John James Shivers, 23, of Sacramento, California, and 30-year-old Bend resident Russel Hendrickson, according to Lt. Brian Kindel.

Detectives had gathered information leading them to suspect Shivers was transporting illegal drugs and possibly stolen guns to the Bend area, Kindel said.

They also learned Shivers assaulted and injured a victim in a “pistol whipping” early Monday morning, he added.

As a result, a felony traffic stop (officers with guns drawn) “was conducted to alleviate the dangers to the officers and public in the area,” Kindel said in a news release.

Four people were in the car, with Shivers and Hendrickson in the rear passenger seats. A search turned up two handguns, one confirmed to be stolen and the other with an obliterated serial number.

Kindel said detectives also found commercial quantities of heroin and user amounts of methamphetamine on Shivers and Hendrickson, along with more evidence to support charges of drug manufacture and distribution. They also were charged as felons in possession of a firearm.

The driver and front passenger were released at the scene without charges. Shivers and Hendrickson were taken to the Deschutes County Jail, where Kindel said Hendrickson was found to have more meth on his person.

The name of the assault victim was not released, pending more information.

Both men are charged with methamphetamine and heroin manufacturing, distribution and possession. Shivers also is charged with third-degree assault, while Hendrickson is accused of supplying contraband, for the hidden meth found at the jail.

Hendrickson was held on an initial bail of $115,000, while Shivers’ bail totaled $130,000, according to jail records.