Caleb Cegers arraigned on murder charge in August fatal downtown Bend shooting of Taylor Wyss
(Update: Both arraignments held; Jan. 8 status hearing set for Caleb Cegers, Nov. 17 plea date for Dahnte)
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – Caleb Cegers, the 20-year-old Bend man accused of fatally shooting Redmond resident Taylor Wyss, 33, in downtown Bend back in August, made his first court appearance Friday morning, having just been returned to Oregon after two months in a Tennessee jail.
Cegers was arraigned on a Sept. 8 indictment charging him with second-degree murder, first-degree assault and two counts of unlawful use of a weapon. Deschutes County Circuit Judge Beth Bagley ordered that Cegers remain held without bail and scheduled a status hearing in the case for Jan. 8.
Federal marshals transported Cegers and his 25-year-old brother, Dahnte, back to Oregon from Tennessee earlier this week. A nationwide manhunt led to their capture days after the crime in Cleveland, Tennessee, near Chattanooga. They had waived extradition and been awaiting their return trip since then.
During the brief arraignment, Bagley also told Cegers he should have no direct or indirect contact with his older brother or with Sadie Cole, his reported girlfriend, who also is accused of assaulting a bartender at Duda’s Billiards Bar that night and helping Caleb flee the scene.
Dahnte Cegers was arraigned Friday afternoon on the Class C felony hindering prosecution charge. Deschutes County Circuit Judge Alycia Sykora agreed to the state’s request to set bail at $100,000 and scheduled a plea hearing for Nov. 17.
The judge also ordered Cegers to have no contact -- including third-party -- with his younger brother Caleb or with Sadie Cole, to notify his lawyer of any change of address and to possess no firearms, ammunition or other weapons.
The two men were booked into the Deschutes County Jail on Thursday, having just been returned to Oregon by federal marshals.
The sheriff's office said federal marshals transported the brothers to Portland on Wednesday, and they spent a night at the Multnomah County Jail in Portland. DCSO detectives and the jail transport unit brought the pair back to Bend on Thursday "without incident," the agency said.
In August, District Attorney Steve Gunnels told us the two men would be returned as soon as possible to Central Oregon, since they had waived extradition and didn't intend to fight it. The DA mentioned the transport process usually takes weeks to arrange and complete.
Earlier this week, Gunnels explained where things stand. "The extradition process is kind of out of our control here in Oregon. Caleb Cegers and his brother are on their way back, we know that."
"The arrival time is not something that is shared with us, for security reasons," the DA said. "So when he shows up in Deschutes County, he'll appear in court the next day -- and then we'll all know that he has been extradited and returned to Oregon."
According to jail records, as of earlier Wednesday, the two brothers were still being held in a Cleveland, Tennessee jail without bail.
Meanwhile, a plea hearing is set for Nov. 8 in Deschutes County for the reported girlfriend of Caleb Cegers, Sadie Lynn Cole, accused of punching a downtown Bend bartender and helping him flee the scene. Cole is charged with hindering prosecution, fourth-degree assault and second-degree disorderly conduct.
