‘Active’ Prineville drug dealer arrested minutes before jail release, after raid

Raid on home turned up guns, other weapons in illegal possession

PRINEVILLE, Ore. (KTVZ) -- A Prineville man police called an “active drug dealer/fugitive” was arrested again Monday, just minutes before his release from the Crook County Jail, after a morning raid on his home turned up two guns and more than a dozen knives and other weapons he illegally possessed, sheriff’s deputies said.

Deputies and Prineville police served a search warrant around 7:30 a.m. at the home of Christopher Labauve, 30, in the 600 block of Northwest Martingale Road, Sgt. Jake Childers said.

The raid resulted from an investigation by sheriff’s patrol and corrections deputies after Labauve was arrested Nov. 26 on a parole violation warrant, having been on the run for some time, Childers said.

“Prior to his arrest, Labauve was an active drug dealer/fugitive in the Prineville community,” the sergeant wrote in a news release.

Deputies acted quickly on leads to recover the weapons illegally possessed by Labauve, a known convicted felon, Childers said.

Deputies recovered two guns, ammunition and more than a dozen other weapons he illegally possessed, including spring-blade knives, daggers and other homemade weapons, Childers said.

"Deputies also recovered a significant amount of drug paraphernalia and other evidence which further identified the abundance of drug-related traffic and use which was occurring at the home," Childers said.

Labauve was booked on 15 new charges of felon in possession of a weapon. His bail totaled $160,000, but was held without bail on parole and probation violations.

Childers said the timing of the raid was coincidental but fortunate.

"It just happened that we got this information and it was the soonest we were able to serve the warrant," he said. "We made it a priority, and we had just finished. We probably had about 15 minutes to spare."