Two Bend men arrested in 6 recent car thefts; 3 stolen guns also recovered

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – Two days after Bend police reported a 56% jump in car thefts last year and plans to curb the trend, officers announced Thursday the arrest of two Bend men in connection with a half-dozen recent car thefts.

Police recovered vehicles stolen in Bend, Sisters, Redmond and Eureka, California, as well as three stolen guns.

Bend police over the past couple of months had noticed a trend of stolen vehicles, particularly Honda cars, Lt. Clint Burleigh said.

On Saturday, police recovered a 1992 Honda Civic stolen out of Eureka after the driver eluded officers, Burleigh said. Several stolen items were found in the car, he said, and officers are working to connect the items with victims throughout the area.

Later that same day, Bend police and members of the Central Oregon Emergency Response Team recovered a stolen 1999 GMC Sierra pickup, an incident police reported on Tuesday. A 19-year-old Bend man was arrested, and a subsequent investigation found him to be responsible for another four car thefts and a variety of other charges.

On Wednesday, police working on the investigation determined the location of a 24-year-old Bend man with an arrest warrant for parole violation who was the main suspect in recent stolen vehicle cases, Burleigh said.

That man was located at a home in northeast Bend. He was the passenger in a vehicle that was not stolen, but the female driver refused to stop for officers and eventually pulled into the Juniper Swim and Fitness Center parking lot. Both occupants fled, but the wanted man was arrested without incident near Juniper Park.

So far, six stolen cars have been recovered, including a Toyota Tacoma stolen in Redmond, a Toyota Tundra stolen in Sisters, a GMC Sierra, two Honda Accords, a Honda Civic and a Honda CRV, Burleigh said. Three stolen guns also were recovered.

The 19-year-old was lodged in the Deschutes County Jail on a variety of charges, from theft and five counts of car theft to felony and misdemeanor eluding police, reckless driving, ID theft and fraudulent use of a credit card. The 24-year-old faces a car theft charge.

Burleigh said more charges are expected against both men as the investigation continues. He told NewsChannel 21 it's believed the two were working together.

"At this point," he said, "it appears they were being used for transportation, and most likely vehicles to commit further criminal activity in, based on multiple stolen items found in a recently recovered stolen vehicle."