A 43-year-old Oregon man was apprehended in La Pine for allegedly stealing a car from a grocery story parking lot and fleeing the area. According to the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office, deputies were dispatched Thursday morning to a report of a stolen vehicle from the Bi-Mart parking lot in La Pine. Initial reports detailed the owner was inside Bi-Mart when his Subaru Legacy was stolen.
Responding deputies attempted to locate the vehicle while enroute to the area. The Community Action Target Team (CATT) Sergeant located the stolen Subaru pulling into the parking lot of Gordy’s Truck Stop. The Sergeant opted to not initiate a vehicle pursuit out of an abundance of caution for the public and awaited other responding units to arrive in the area prior to attempting to make contact.
The suspect, later identified as a 43-year-old man from Yachats, was witnessed by a citizen and employee fleeing from the stolen vehicle on foot. Responding deputies were able to establish a perimeter in the area with the goal of utilizing a K-9 to locate and ultimately apprehend the suspect.
Prior to the K-9 arriving, the suspect was witnessed crossing Highway 97 west towards Burgess Road. Deputies and the CATT Sergeant were able to apprehend him without incident. He was transported to the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office Adult Jail on the listed charges: Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle, Reckless Driving, Reckless Endangering, Unlawful Entry to a Motor Vehicle
