Peaceful surrender ends 3-hour standoff with fugitive south of downtown Bend
(Update: Adding video, Bend police details)
Was suspect in recent cases involving gun; stolen gun, heroin found Thursday
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – Bend police and the region’s SWAT team surrounded a home south of downtown Saturday, closing streets and alerting neighbors about a standoff with a fugitive who police said was a suspect in several recent cases involving a firearm.
The incident began shortly after noon, when officers received information the 36-year-old man they were seeking was in a residence in the 300 block of Northwest Colorado Avenue, at its intersection with Chamberlin Street, Lt. Clint Burleigh said.
The man was suspected to have had a stolen handgun that was found Thursday, along with more than 26 grams of suspected heroin, Burleigh said.
The Central Oregon Emergency Response Team was activated due to the nature of the investigation and possible presence of firearms, he added.
A Bend police officer could be heard on a megaphone, telling the man inside, "We are not going away," and asking him to either turn on his phone and call 911 "or come out the front door, with your hands in the air."
Crisis Negotiator Team members were eventually able to contact the man, and he agreed to come out of the home around 3:20 p.m.
The man was taken to the Deschutes County Jail on charges of first-degree theft, first-degree burglary, and heroin possession and delivery.
The home is at the intersection of Colorado Avenue and Chamberlin Street, both of which were closed due to the incident, as police with rifles and an armored car from the CERT team surrounded the home, across Colorado Avenue from the Market of Choice grocery store.
Due to the home's location, Colorado Avenue was closed between Northwest Sisemore Street and Lava Road, causing some traffic detours and backups.
Burleigh said police worked with the market to have customers use the southern exit on Arizona Avenue, while Colorado Avenue was closed at Sisemore Street.
“We got hold of neighbors, told them they should think about relocating or sheltering, staying safe in their homes,” he said, calling it “a high-risk situation.”
Around 2:30 p.m., with CERT members were at the home's front door before a flash and smoke could be seen, indicated the apparent use of a "flash bang" device, in a bid to get the person out of the home.
Less than an hour later, he came out and slowly walked backwards toward waiting police, his hands over his head. CERT members soon entered the home.
"This is the outcome we want," Burleigh told NewsChannel 21 later. "We wanted a very peaceful outcome. We’ll handle the situations. Everybody gets due process, but as we take situations, we try to make them safe.”
“The collaboration between all the law enforcement agencies in Central Oregon is what makes this happen," he added. "That team made this, made this event end peacefully.”
