A 46-year-old Sisters man was jailed on a list of charges after police found $225,000 worth of stolen construction equipment at his home. After receiving several community tips and a report from a Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office Deputy, the Central Oregon Drug Enforcement Team (CODE) identified the man as a suspect in a series of construction and heavy equipment thefts around the Portland, and Vancouver, Washington areas. The suspect was previously arrested for trafficking methamphetamine and fentanyl in November 2022.
After a multi-day surveillance operation, CODE Detectives applied for, obtained, and executed a search warrant for his home on the 16700 block of Peterson Ridge Rd. At approximately 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, he was contacted during a traffic stop on Highway 20 west, near Dayton Rd.
The initial investigation alleges the suspect stole dump trailers, a car trailer, side-by-side ATVs, a skid steer loader, a bucket loader, and a tractor from various locations around the Portland and Vancouver area over a 2-month period. He then brought the stolen property to his home on Peterson Ridge Road, where he obliterated serial numbers and painted the equipment to disguise them. It appears that he was later selling or renting the equipment for profit.
The estimated value of the recovered equipment is $225,000. Detectives, with the assistance of the construction equipment manufacturers, were able to locate secondary identifying information and match the equipment with the victims of the thefts. Detectives are still not able to match three of the dump trailers and a skid steer loader to the victims. Detectives believe these unclaimed items were stolen in the Portland metro area within the last 2 months.
Please contact Detective Jeff Pope if you have any information about one of these unclaimed trailers, the skid steer loader. Detective Pope may be reached at 541-388-6655. Please reference case number 22-69589
At the time of the arrest, CODE Detectives and DCSO Deputies gathered and seized a commercial quantity of fake pharmaceutical tablets made of fentanyl. A “commercial quantity” is defined by statute as five grams or more of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of fentanyl or any substituted derivative of fentanyl as defined by the rules of the Oregon Board of Pharmacy. This is not a separate criminal charge but rather an increase in the sentencing guidelines.
CODE Detectives were assisted by Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office Street Crimes Unit and Deputies, Consolidated Towing, and 5G Equipment Rental. CODE recognizes and appreciates their support during this investigation.