A Bend man was arrested Friday morning after allegedly shooting his adult son during an argument at a homeless camp, according to the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office.
Sgt. Jayson Janes said deputies responded to a camp off China Hat Road after a reported shooting around 11 a.m.
The caller said 57-year-old Dwanye Dittmer shot his adult son.
Deputies responded to the area and talked to the people involved, Janes said.
The victim, a 21-year-old man, was taken to St. Charles in Bend with non-life-threatening injuries.
Detectives ended up serving a search warrant on the trailer where the alleged shooting took place, Janes said.
Based on statements made by the victim, witnesses, and evidence seized at the location, Dittmer was arrested and taken to the Deschutes County Jail and charged with felon in possession of a firearm and negligently wounding another.
The Sheriff’s Office was assisted at the scene by the Oregon State Police, US Forest Service Law Enforcement, and Bend Fire and Rescue.
A Bend man suspected of two armed robberies and leading authorities on a high-speed chase over Santiam Pass Tuesday night was shot and killed by officers near Gates, according to the Linn County Sheriff’s Office.
The shooting happened around 11:45 p.m. on Highway 22 outside of Gates.
A deputy with the Linn County Sheriff’s Office and three Oregon State Police troopers involved in the shooting were not injured.
The wild night for authorities started in Bend around 10:15 when police responded to armed robberies at Dutch Bros. on SE 3rd street and at Domino’s on SE Yew Avenue.
Bend Police Lt. Juli McConkey said the suspect, later identified as 27-year-old Brad Masters, walked up to the Dutch Bros drive-thru window, showed a gun and demanded money before running away.
Masters then went into the Domino’s, showed the gun, demanded money and stole a car from an employee.
A Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office deputy was on the Bend Parkway nearby and saw the stolen car driving south and speeding.
The deputy tried to stop the car but lost it in the area of Romaine Village.
Mugshot from July 2020
As a perimeter was being set up in the area, another deputy watching Highway 20 just west of Tumalo spotted the stolen car pass by him going between 90 and 100 mph, McConkey said.
The deputy was able to catch up to the car and tried to pull it over, but Masters kept going west on Highway 20 where the deputy stopped the chase as he got close to Sisters.
A Black Butte Police Officer east of Sisters set up spike strips, but Masters was able to drive around them.
Once the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Deputy was west of Sisters, he resumed the chase until he reached the county line.
McConkey said the deputy was alone at the time so he decided to end the pursuit.
A short time later, deputies from Linn County and Oregon State Troopers spotted Masters on Highway 22.
Oregon State Police Troopers and a Linn County deputy took over the pursuit until the car was finally stopped with spike strips near Gates.
Once stopped, Masters got out of the car, a confrontation ensued, and three troopers and a Linn County deputy fired shots, according to Lt. Treven Upkes with the Salem Police Department
The involved law enforcement officers are Oregon State Police Troopers Caleb Yoder, Michael Iacob, and Joseph Sousa, who have been with the Oregon State Police five years and 10 months, four years and 11 months, and three years and 10 months respectively.
The Linn County Deputy Sheriff involved was Brandon Rathelegurche, who has been with Linn County Sheriff’s Office for two years and 10 months.
Each officer has been placed on administrative leave per their respective agency’s policies.
The shooting happened in Marion County and the Salem Police Department is conducting the investigation.
The Bend Police continue to work with the various agencies on the investigation.
Masters has a lengthy criminal record dating back at least to 2010 for various crimes including computer crimes, theft, identity theft, forgery, speeding, and criminal mischief.
The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office has put the final details in place for a dedicated law enforcement presence in Sisters.
Sisters had its own police department until 1998 when it began contracting with the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office for law enforcement services.
“Previously, the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office had a west district deputy who would serve all of Sisters Country, the west end of Deschutes County and they rotated in and out of the city,” said Cory Misley, Sisters City Manager. “Now we are going to have three deputies and a lieutenant who only work inside the city and they don’t rotate to any part of the county.”
Deputies dedicated to Sisters will provide all the services of a typical police department, in vehicles marked with City of Sisters logos.
Lieutenant Chad Davis will lead the effort as de facto police chief.
“I’ve lived in the community for 25 years,” Davis said. “I have three kids in the school district. My wife is a substitute schoolteacher so we are really vested into the community.”
Davis brings 22 years of experience and worked as a reserve with the Sisters Police Department in the mid-90s, an opportunity he says allowed him to get familiar with the city’s culture.
“We’ll have a lot more time to do proactive patrols, meeting business owners, meeting the citizens out there and establishing relationships which are so important to do law enforcement correctly,” he said. “That cooperation and trust is built by getting out of your car, shaking hands, meeting those people, and establishing relationships so they trust us and will share information with us.”
Davis will attend city council meetings and his deputies will be available to patrol large events such as the Sisters Rodeo and Folk Festival.
This new enhanced contract with DCSO will cost Sisters about $726,000 annually.
Misley says it’s worth it.
“We’ll get to know and build a relationship with these law enforcement officers and that is really taking a big step in terms of community policing here in Sisters,” he said.
A 19-year-old McMinnville man wanted in Marion County was arrested Sunday afternoon after leading sheriff’s deputies on a short foot chase across Highway 97 near La Pine..
According to a release, at 11:39 am Deputies with the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office Patrol Division conducted a traffic stop on Highway 97 near Rocking Horse Rd.
It was later learned that Aryan Lee Gledhill was a passenger in the vehicle during that traffic stop but, at the time, was not identified.
Deputies later learned Gledhill had two outstanding felony warrants for his arrest out of Marion County for aggravated harassment. The vehicle description and identity of the male was provided to other Deschutes County Deputies, who began looking for Gledhill.
At 12:19, a deputy saw Gledhill inside the vehicle traveling south on Highway 97 near La Pine. Patrol deputies coordinated a traffic stop near the 51000 block of Highway 97 to contact and arrest Gledhill.
Gledhill exited the vehicle and ran away, crossing Highway 97 as deputies gave chase.
Deschutes County Deputy Keith Slater deployed his canine partner “Brolo” who, with the help of other deputies, apprehended Gledhill about 30 yards from the traffic stop.
Both north and south bound traffic voluntarily stopped to allow the suspect and pursuing deputies to safely cross Highway 97 while in foot pursuit.
Gledhill was arrested on several charges including the two outstanding felony warrants for aggravated harassment, second-degree escape, attempting to elude, felony possession of a controlled substance and resisting arrest.
He was treated at the scene by La Pine Fire/Paramedics before being taken to St. Charles Medical Center in Bend with non-life-threatening dog bite injuries related to his apprehension.
He was later transported to the Deschutes County Jail.
Bend Police and the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office Community Action Target Team on Thursday will run a focused traffic enforcement detail on Highway 97 north of Bend.
The team will focus on the highway between Deschutes Junction and Cooley Road, keeping an eye out for distracted drivers, speeding, following too closely, seat belt violations and careless driving.
Preliminary crash data through 2017 from the Oregon Department of Transportation shows that in this particular area, drivers are driving too fast and following too closely. These two factors were established as being the primary cause of crashes in this area.
The goal is to help drivers understand the importance of following posted speed signs, while encouraging them to be attentive and safe behind the wheel.
“It’s very busy and we have high volume of crashes in that area and so it’s a good opportunity for us to make sure drivers realize that they need to slow down and they need to pay attention to the road,” said Bend Police Lt. Juli McConkey.
She said police provide advance notice for this type of operation, because it encourages drivers everywhere to obey the rules of the road.
“Even though we advise them ahead of time, there are still folks out there who are violating the law,” she said.
While Bend PD’s traffic division and the Sheriff’s Office Community Action Target Team have conducted similar joint operations in the past, this is the first time for this stretch of highway 97.
Bend Police arrested a homeless man Friday after he was overheard threatening to blow up a building.
The threat happened just after 12 p.m. and prompted a swift response from police who set up a perimeter, closed several roads and evacuated the Alexander Drake Building at 250 NW Franklin Ave.
The suspect, 37-year-old Mathew Henderson, walked out of the building on his own after about 15 minutes. He was arrested by police in the parking lot.
Mathew Henderson
According to police, the investigation revealed that while Henderson was walking into the building he was agitated and yelling. A witness, the original caller to 911, was sitting in a vehicle nearby and overheard Henderson, who was wearing a backpack, yelling that he was going to blow up the building.
Once he was arrested, police searched his backpack and found no explosive devices or material. Police also searched the building and did not find anything suspicious.
Henderson was taken to the Deschutes County Jail and charged with first degree disorderly conduct.
Friday’s incident is the second bomb threat made in downtown Bend this week. Police are still searching for a suspect who left a suspicious package in front of the Deschutes County Courthouse on Monday morning. That threat prompted a call to the Oregon State Police bomb squad who came from Eugene to inspect the package. It was later deemed a hoax, but not before the area was shut down for most of the morning and all court activities canceled for the day.
The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office has identified the human remains found over the weekend near Sunriver as 48-year-old Curtis Frederick Pagel.
According to Lt. Chad Davis, Pagel had no known recent address, but had lived in Oregon for many years. The cause of death is still being determined by the Oregon State Medical Examiner’s Office.
Curtis Frederick Pagel
A camper on Sunday reported finding a possible decomposed body alongside a forest service road near Wake Butte. Upon arrival, deputies confirmed it was human remains. Deschutes County Sheriff’s Sgt. William Bailey told Central Oregon Daily the body was badly decomposed and had been there for “months” and detectives determined foul play was involved in the death.
The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office is asking the public for assistance with any information they may have about Pagel, including past work history, past residences or any recent contact they might have had with him.
The public is asked to contact the Sheriff’s Office through non-emergency dispatch at 541-693-6911.
A 34-year-old Bend man was arrested Wednesday morning after multiple hit-and-run crashes and a short chase from Tumalo to Bend.
According to the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office, someone called 9-1-1 about 1:12 a.m. Wednesday to report a Chevy truck had crashed into park cars near Tumalo Tavern. The caller reported the driver drove away from the parking lot after the crashes and drove through Tumalo.
Randall Richard Kilby (April 2019)
Meanwhile, Bend Police were actively investigating another hit and run crash near Jake’s Diner reported about a half hour earlier. The victim provided a description of the truck and the driver and police said it matched the suspect from the incident in Tumalo.
A DSCO Deputy Sheriff located the truck and unsuccessfully tried to pull over the driver. A pursuit ensued through Tumalo and onto southbound Highway 97 toward Bend, with speeds never exceeding 55 mph.
Sheriff’s deputies deployed spike strips on the highway and were able to bring the truck to a stop at the Highway 97 and Cooley Road intersection.
After the truck stopped, DCSO Deputies, with the help of Oregon State Police and Bend Police, conducted a high risk vehicle stop.
DSCO Sgt. Kent Vander Kamp said the driver, Randall Richard Kilby of Bend, was arrested without further incident. No injuries were reported.
Kilby was taken to the Deschutes County Jail and booked on several charges including felony attempting to elude, reckless driving and a parole violation.
The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office Oregon have identified the suspect in yesterday’s fatal shooting as 49-year-old Joanna L. Kasner.
Kasner is currently in custody and receiving treatment at St. Charles Medical Center in Bend. She is being held on one count of murder in the alleged shooting that left 58-year-old Valerie Peterson dead.
The Sheriff’s Office has not released any information on why the shooting occurred or if the two women knew each other.
Central Oregon Daily will be posting more updates as information becomes available, but for now Anyssa Bohanan has the latest.
