Bend Police say it is a good idea to take inventory, label your possessions, and write down the serial numbers. That helped with an arrest of a Bend man who was found with thousands of dollars worth of stolen goods in his possession.
Last Sunday morning, Bend Police responded to 642 NE 3rd Street for the report of a suspicious male. The reporting person indicated the male was walking around and attempting to enter various vehicles.
When officers arrived, they contacted Rurik Smith, 38, from Bend, standing next to a 2001 Lincoln 4-door sedan. Officers were able to identify items belonging to Smith inside this vehicle. They also noticed several tools inside the vehicle that were specifically marked. Based on the circumstances, the officers looked into the markings and found that these tools belonged to Vista Plumbing.
Smith was taken into custody and lodged at the Deschutes County Jail for a Probation Violation and Theft II.
Officers wrote a search warrant to seize the vehicle and later followed up with a second search warrant allowing them to search inside the vehicle.
On June 21, 2021 at 5:00am, Bend Police received a report of a burglary from two Conex boxes. It was reported that the boxes were broken into sometime between June 18th and June 21st. The location of the burglary was a construction site in the 60800 block of SW Atwood Drive.
On June 21st, 2021, Officers executed the search warrant on the 2001 Lincoln. During the search of the vehicle, several tools were recovered, including $8,500 worth of tools belonging to Vista Plumbing and another $3,300 worth of tools belonging to Hernandez Framing. These tools were tied to the burglary on SW Atwood Drive.
Based on the information obtained, officers are recommending additional charges in this case to the Deschutes County District Attorney’s Office:
- Burglary II (2 counts)
- Criminal Mischief II (2 counts)
- Aggravated Theft
- Possession of Burglary Tools
The success in this case was due in large part to the officer’s ability to identify the stolen tools he found inside the vehicle Smith was operating. Because the tools were clearly marked by the owner with unique labeling, it allowed the officer to quickly identify and contact them to help recover the tools and return them to the owner. The Bend Police Department recommends community members take the time to inventory and mark your important property. This could include recording serial numbers or placing unique identifiers on each item.
