Date: March 20, 2025 

Case #: 2025-00015598 

Incident: Bend man arrested after stealing vehicle, driving erratically through Bend 

Date / Time of Incident: March 19, 2025 / 7:04 a.m.  

Arrested: Christopher Charles Edward Peterson, 26-year-old Bend resident 

Offenses: Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle, Criminal Mischief I x2, Reckless Driving, Theft III, Warrant 

At approximately 7:04 a.m. on Wednesday, March 19, Bend Police responded to a report of a stolen vehicle at the Riverhouse Lodge on North U.S. Highway 97. The owner reported that he had been warming up his gray Mazda CX5 when a man got into the car and drove away.  

As officers were investigating, the vehicle passed an officer southbound on SE Third Street at approximately 90 to 100 MPH. Multiple Bend Police officers, as well as deputies from the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office and troopers from the Oregon State Police, responded to the call. The suspect, later identified as 26-year-old Bend resident Christopher Peterson, drove the vehicle southbound in the northbound lanes of Highway 97, through the Old Back Nine golf course and through the Caldera High School parking lot before school was in session. Bend Police advised the school, which was briefly placed in secure.  

Bend Police did not pursue the vehicle, instead setting up throughout the area to attempt a stop. 

At the SE 15th Street and Reed Market Road roundabout, deputies successfully executed a spike strip, which flattened the vehicle’s tires. Peterson ultimately drove onto Ventura Place, a cul-de-sac, and officers pinned the vehicle in place.  

Peterson was taken into custody at approximately 7:43 a.m. He had a felony warrant and was arrested on suspicion of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, two counts of first-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving and third-degree theft. He was lodged at the Deschutes County Jail.  

Multiagency Traffic Enforcement Detail Results 

On behalf of Deschutes County’s law enforcement agencies, Bend Police are pleased to share the results of this week’s multiagency traffic enforcement detail.  

The detail, which took place for four hours each day from March 10 through March 12, targeted high-traffic areas in Bend, Redmond, Black Butte Ranch, Sunriver and rural Deschutes County, focused on speed, intoxicated and distracted driving, as well as unsafe driving behaviors like illegal passing and not wearing seatbelts. It focused primarily on U.S. Highway 20, U.S. Highway 126, U.S. Highway 97 and the Bend Parkway.  

Over the three-day detail, at least 36 officers from six agencies – Oregon State Police, Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office, Bend Police, Redmond Police, Black Butte Ranch Police and Sunriver Police – participated.  

Officers made more than 380 traffic stops related to the detail. About 45 percent of those traffic stops, more than 170, resulted in at least one traffic citation. The majority of those stops were initiated because of excessive speed. Seventeen of the drivers contacted were driving with suspended licenses.  

Traffic safety affects everyone in our community. Bend Police and our partners ask drivers to drive responsibly – slow down, don’t use your phone, and obey the rules of the road.  

Multiagency Traffic Enforcement Detail scheduled in Central Oregon 

The Bend Police Department, in conjunction with the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office, Redmond Police Department, Sunriver Police Department, Black Butte Police Department and Oregon State Police, will run a multiagency traffic enforcement detail focused on U.S. Highway 20, U.S. Highway 126, U.S. Highway 97 and the Bend Parkway from March 10 through March 12. 
 

The detail, which will target high-traffic areas in Bend, Redmond, Black Butte, Sunriver and rural Deschutes County, will focus on speed, intoxicated and distracted driving, as well as other unsafe behaviors like illegal passing and not wearing seatbelts.  
 

Speed is a leading cause of crashes, including fatal crashes, in both Central Oregon and throughout the country. According to the Oregon State Police, in 2024 there were 629 crashes on Central Oregon's highways. Of those, 446 resulted in injuries and 26 resulted in death.    
 

Please slow down and drive safely every day, not just while our traffic detail is underway. And if you see law enforcement conducting traffic stops, remember that it is the law to move over and give them space.   

Date: March 1, 2025  
 

Case #: 2025-00011786 
 

Incident: Bend man suffers serious injuries in stabbing 
 

Date / Time of Incident: March 1, 2025 / 1:17 a.m. 
 

Location: 20000 block of Empire Avenue, Bend 
 

Arrested: Ty Joseph Blischke, 20-year-old Bend resident 

Offenses: Assault I, Unlawful Use of a Weapon 

Victim: 19-year-old Bend resident 
 

At approximately 1:17 a.m. on Saturday, March 1, Bend Police responded to a report of a dispute and stabbing at the Escena Apartments on Empire Avenue.  

When officers arrived, they found 20-year-old Ty Joseph Blischke in the parking lot. Blischke and the victim are roommates. Officers entered the apartment and found the victim on the couch with a stab wound to his left ribs. The victim reported that Blischke had stabbed him. A third roommate was on scene but did not witness the altercation, only overheard it from another room.  
 

Medics transported the victim to St. Charles Bend with serious injuries. Blischke was detained and taken to the Bend Police Department for questioning, then transported to the Deschutes County Jail on suspicion of first-degree assault and unlawful use of a weapon. Detectives executed a search warrant at the apartment, and the investigation is ongoing.  

UPDATE: On Feb. 28, 2025, a Deschutes County grand jury indicted 30-year-old Jessica May Sanders of Clearlake, Calif., and 38-year-old Jason Newton Loun of Redmond, on suspicion of second-degree murder, first-degree robbery, unlawful use of a weapon and third-degree theft in the January death of Robert Lewis Treher.  

On Jan. 3, Bend Police identified Sanders as a person of interest in the homicide investigation. Sanders, an acquaintance of Treher, had an outstanding warrant for her arrest out of Lake County, Calif., and was staying in nearby Eagle Crest Resort. That same day, detectives, with assistance from the Deschutes County Sheriff's Office and Redmond Police, conducted a traffic stop in the area of SW 27th Street and Juniper Avenue in Redmond and took Sanders and the driver, Delfina Annette Gonzales, into custody. Based on evidence found in the vehicle, the pair were charged with delivery of a controlled substance (methamphetamine) and possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamine). They were lodged at the Deschutes County Jail, where Sanders has remained as a result of the drug offenses. 

Loun, also an acquaintance of Treher, was taken into custody by Redmond Police at approximately 2 a.m. on March 1.  

Sanders and Loun are currently lodged at the Deschutes County Jail on the above charges.  

Date: March 1, 2025 

Case #: 2025-00011744 

Incident: Two pedestrians injured in hit-and-run crash 

Date / Time of Incident: Feb. 28, 2025 / 8:04 p.m.  

Location: 64 SW Century Drive, Bend 

Arrested: Stuart Daniel Heater, 35-year-old Bend resident  

Offenses: DUII, Hit and Run, Reckless Endangering x2, Assault II, Assault IV 

At approximately 8:04 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 28, Bend Police responded to SW Century Drive near Cascade West Grub & Alehouse for a report that two pedestrians crossing SW Century Drive in a crosswalk had been struck by a car and that the driver had left the scene.  

When officers arrived, they found two injured pedestrians, a 37-year-old Bend resident and a 33-year-old Bend resident. Both were transported to St. Charles Bend, one with life-threatening injuries.  

While on scene at the incident, Bend Police were approached by 35-year-old Stuart Daniel Heater, who admitted to being the driver and reported his car was parked nearby in the 1400 block of NW Davenport Avenue. Heater was taken into custody and transported to the Deschutes County Jail on the above offenses. Heater may face additional charges as the investigation continues.  

The Bend Police crash reconstruction team responded to the area and SW Century Drive between Albany and Simpson avenues as officers investigated. The road remained closed until approximately 10: 30 p.m.  

Date: Feb. 28, 2025 

Case #: 2025-00011668 

Incident: Bend Police respond to report of active threat as part of banking scam 

Date / Time of Incident: Feb. 28, 2025 / 1:59 p.m.  

Location: First Interstate Bank, 1700 NE Third Street, Bend  

At approximately 2 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 28, Bend Police responded to a report of a bomb threat at the First Interstate Bank on NE Third Street.  

Bank employees and customers evacuated to a nearby parking lot.  

During an investigation, officers learned that a customer had come to the bank to withdraw funds. When bank employees determined the customer was likely being scammed, they turned the customer away and declined to process the transaction.  

While the customer was still on site, the scammer called the bank and reported there was a bomb in the parking lot.  

Officers used unmanned aerial systems (a drone) to search the parking lot and bank. A team of officers then completed a similar search and determined there was no threat to the area.  

There was a large police presence in the area as officers investigated, and roads in the area were closed for approximately 25 minutes. 

This remains an active investigation.