CODE agents arrest Bend man after spotting parking lot drug deals; raid of minivan, storage unit turns up meth

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – Central Oregon drug agents spotted a suspicious minivan in a NE Third Street parking lot Tuesday afternoon, with a familiar driver doing apparent drug deals. They followed the vehicle to a nearby storage unit, arrested the Bend man and raided the vehicle and storage unit, finding a commercial quantity of methamphetamine.

The Central Oregon Drug Enforcement Team concluded the short-term investigation and surveillance operation around 2:30 p.m. with the arrest of a 54-year-old Bend man, Sergeant Kent Vander Kamp said.

Drug agents were in the area of Third Street and Mervin Samples Road when they noticed the Chrysler Pacifica in the parking lot and they recognized the driver from previous drug investigations, Vander Kamp said.

After a brief surveillance operation, CODE detectives, in collaboration with Bend Police, intercepted the suspect parked in a Chrysler Pacifica at a nearby storage unit complex on Sherman Road, the sergeant said,

CODE narcotics detection K-9 Bonnie was deployed and signaled her handler to the presence of a controlled substance in the minivan and the storage unit he was parked in front of, Vander Kamp said.

Drug agents applied for and were granted a search warrant by a circuit court judge for the vehicle and storage unit, and that turned up the commercial quantity of meth and a double-edged “switchblade” knife.

The suspect was booked in the Deschutes County Jail on charges of meth possession and attempted distribution, and felon in possession of a dangerous weapon.

 NewsChannel 21’s policy is not to name arrested individuals until and unless formal charges are filed.