Gun pulled, Bend man arrested outside NE Bend convenience store, police say

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – An argument between two Bend men brought police to a northeast Bend convenience store late Tuesday night after one man allegedly pointed a stolen handgun at the other outside the store and was arrested on several charges.

Police responded around 10:45 p.m. to the Quickway Market on Butler Market Road on a 911 call reporting a man pointing a gun at another man near a patio table outside of the store, Lt. Juli McConkey said.

Officers were already in the area on an unrelated call and were on scene in about three minutes. They used “high-risk” (guns-drawn) tactics to take both men into custody without incident, McConkey said.

An investigation determined the suspect, identified as Tonda Bowling, 40, arrived at the store armed with a handgun and got into a dispute with a 45-year-old Bend man whom he knew.

During the argument, Bowling menaced the other man with the gun, McConkey said. The second man then disarmed Bowling and pointed the gun at him, leading to the 911 call.

The handgun was placed on a nearby table as the two continued their dispute, McConkey said. An employee and customer picked up the gun, cleared the loaded chamber and took it inside the store to secure it until police arrived.

There were no injuries, McConkey said in a news release, adding that “alcohol and marijuana consumption were contributing factors in this incident.”

The gun had been reported stolen to the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office earlier this year, the lieutenant said.

Bowling was taken to the county jail and lodged on charges of first-degree theft, felon in possession of a firearm, unlawful use of a weapon, menacing, altering a firearm’s ID number and second-degree disorderly conduct. He was held Wednesday on $47,500 bail.

Bend police were assisted in the incident by sheriff’s deputies, McConkey said.