Prineville motorcyclist stopped, arrested after sheriff’s K-9 finds methamphetamine

PRINEVILLE, (KTVZ) – A Prineville man being investigated for alleged drug sales around Central Oregon was arrested Thursday after his motorcycle was stopped on Highway 26 and a Crook County Sheriff’s Office K-9 found almost 100 grams of methamphetamine in it, officials said.

Over the past month, the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office Street Crimes Unit had been investigating the 56-year-old Prineville resident for drug sales in the tri-county area, Detective Sergeant Doug Sullivan said.

On Thursday, Street Crimes detectives learned he was returning to the area with drugs in his possession, Sullivan said.

They spotted the man on a 2016 Husqvarna motorcycle heading east on Highway 26 near Prineville, and he was stopped near milepost 26.

Crook County Sheriff’s Office K-9 Jett and his partner, Sgt. Mitch Madden, responded, and the dog alerted to the presence of drugs in the motorcycle, Sullivan said.

A search of the motorcycle turned up about 93 grams (a commercial quantity) of methamphetamine, a digital scale and packaging material, the detective said. He also was in possession of a .38-caliber handgun and a rifle.

The man was arrested and lodged at the Crook County jail on drug possession, distribution and manufacture charges.

The Street Crimes Unit was assisted by the Crook County Sheriff’s Office and the Central Oregon Drug Enforcement (CODE) Team.

The sheriff’s office Street Crimes Unit focuses enforcement on street-level drug cases and quality of life issues connected to property crimes throughout Deschutes County.