Four charged in crime crackdown near Bend BottleDrop

Officers interrupt alleged drug deal

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- A special police team arrested or cited four Bend residents near the Bottle Drop in northeast Bend on Tuesday for a variety of crimes, part of an effort to address complaints by residents in the area.

Officers assigned to patrol and the Problem Oriented Policing team conducted the focused operation near the area of Northeast Second Street and Hawthorne Avenue to address ongoing complaints of theft, offensive littering, abandoned shopping carts, criminal mischief, drug use and residents feeling unsafe in the area, Sgt. Wes Murphy said.

The Bottle Drop is open, Murphy said, and staff is actively enforcing social distancing policies, in compliance with Gov. Kate Brown's executive order. Officers focused on crimes on public property surround the area, as the Bottle Drop was not the subject of the investigation, he said.

Ruth Perry-Johnson, 28, was observed drinking a 32-ounce can of Steel Reserve, an alcoholic beverage, and wandering in and out of the streets and onto the sidewalks while drinking it, Murphy said. She was concealing the container under her sweatshirt between drinks, and was cited for drinking on an unlicensed premise.

Caleb Tyler, 44, was observed pushing a shopping car full of personal property and trash. It was illegally taken from Safeway and was worth about $250. He was cited and released on a second-degree theft charge.

James Rahn, 37, and Eliseo Castro, 60, were observed conducting a suspected "hand to hand" drug transaction, Murphy said. Castro previously had been arrested in the same area for selling methamphetamine, and officers learned Castro had sold Rahn meth as well.

Officers followed Rahn when he left the area and contacted him near the Hawthorne bus station. After officers stopped Rahn and told him he was under arrest, Rahn ran a short distance before he was caught and placed in handcuffs by officers.

During the struggle to place Rahn in handcuffs, he sustained minor scrapes on his knee and forehead, but did not require medical treatment. Officers were not injured during the arrest.

After officers had Rahn in custody, they discovered he had a collapsible baton concealed in a small bag he'd been carrying when arrested, Murphy said., adding that the baton had been easily accessible to him. Officers also learned he had an outstanding warrant for his arrest on a probation violation regarding a previous weapons charge.

Rahn was taken to the Deschutes County Jail and remained held without bail late Wednesday on a parole violation charge, also charged with felony meth possession, carrying a concealed weapon, third-degree escape and violating the governor's Stay Home, Save Lives order.

Officers arrested Castro without incident and he was cited and released on a meth delivery charge. Several grams of the drug were seized during the arrests of Castro and Rahn, Murphy said.