Bend police arrest transient in car tire shooting

(Update: Details of arrest)

Bend police early Monday arrested a 65-year-old transient who they say witnessed an argument between two men in a southeast Bend business parking lot on Saturday, pointed a gun at one of the men, then shot out a tire on his car.

Around 2 a.m. Monday, officers found a Chevy Astro van sought since the Saturday incident, parked in the Bend Walmart parking lot.

Because of what occurred, officers made a “high-risk” (guns drawn) contact and arrested Franklin Smalley, who was alone in the van.

Smalley was booked into the Deschutes County Jail around 4:15 a.m. on charges of unlawful use of a weapon, two counts of first-degree menacing, two counts of recklessly endangering and one count of second-degree criminal mischief. His bail totaled $35,000.

More details about the arrest will be released later Monday, police said.

Police were called around 10:30 a.m. Saturday to the parking lot at the corner of Southeast Third Street and Reed Market Road regarding a verbal dispute between two men, Lt. Ken Mannix said. Employees at a nearby auto parts store who witnessed the ongoing dispute called police.

While en route, officers were told a third person also was on the scene and that a tire on one man’s car had been shot with a handgun, Mannix said. They also were told all but the victim were either running or driving away.

Officers investigating the incident said a 38-year-old Bend man was involved in a verbal dispute with an unidentified man outside the Bend man’s car, a 1994 Chrysler LeBaron. A 21-year-old female transient was sitting in the car, Mannix said.

During the argument, another man, identified as Smalley approached the Bend man and pointed a handgun at him, then shot the driver’s side rear tire on the LeBaron, causing it to go flat, the lieutenant said.

Smalley then fled in his vehicle, a dark green 2002 Chevy Astro van with Oregon license plates 997 FDL, Mannix said. The unidentified man left on foot, he said, adding that no one was injured in the incident.

Police conducted an extensive search of the area for Smalley and the other man, but they were not found at the time.

Bend police had asked anyone with information about the incident or who knew the whereabouts of Smalley or his vehicle to call 911 dispatch immediately. As Smalley is believed to be armed, he “should not be contacted by the general public,” Mannix said late Saturday.