New Deer Ridge prison superintendent charged in Bend with DUII, resisting arrest

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ)  -- The recently appointed superintendent of Deer Ridge Correctional Institution near Madras was arrested early Thursday morning on charges of drunken driving and resisting arrest after he ran from a traffic stop on the north end of Bend, police said.

An officer on routine patrol around 2 a.m. pulled over a pickup truck being driven by Randy Ray Gilbertson, 46, of Payette, Idaho, for driving with no headlights and weaving within his lane of travel, Lt. Juli McConkey said.

While the officer was conducting a DUII investigation, Gilbertson ran from the officer, then resisted arrest, McConkey said. He was arrested and taken into custody without further incident.

Gilbertson was lodged in the Deschutes County Jail and was arraigned Thursday afternoon on three charges, all Class A misdemeanors – DUII-alcohol, interfering with a peace officer (not letting the officer control his arm) and fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer. The judge agreed to his release at that hearing, a jail spokeswoman said; court records show his plea hearing is set for Sept. 23.

Gilbertson became the superintendent at Deer Ridge less than three weeks ago, on August 1, Oregon Department of Corrections Communications Manager Jennifer Black said. He began his time with the agency in 1999, as a correctional officer at Snake River Correctional Institution in Ontario, most recently serving as a captain there before taking the Deer Ridge post, Black said.

As a result of the arrest, “Gilbertson is currently duty stationed at home with pay pending a police investigation," Black said. Once that is complete, she said, the matter will be referred back to the Department of Corrections human resources team.

In the meantime, Richard Ackley, a long-time Deer Ridge staff member, has been named acting superintendent of the facility.