The Nugget Newspaper - News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

Keith Schmidtke, 35, of Sisters, was arrested Saturday night in connection with an alleged attempted robbery in La Pine.

According to Deschutes County Sheriff's Office reports, Deschutes County 911 received a call at about 5 p.m. reporting several subjects were standing in the middle of Burgess Road having a verbal argument. The group was then seen leaving the area in their vehicles.

At one point, 911 received a broken cell-phone call reporting that one vehicle was being chased and shot at by the occupant of another vehicle. Deputies from the Deschutes County Sheriff's Office tracked down the suspect vehicle and initiated a traffic stop.

As the suspect vehicle slowed, two passengers fled on foot. Schmidtke was the driver of the vehicle, and he was taken into custody. A search then began in the La Pine area for the two outstanding suspects.

An Oregon State Police Trooper notified citizens in the area of Burgess Road and Old Stage Road to be on the lookout for suspicious males. A citizen then decided to check a vacant house he was caretaking for and located the suspects. The citizen was armed with a firearm and held the suspects at gunpoint, called 911 and awaited the arrival of law enforcement. Jared Edward Pickett and Tim Ryan Sole, both of La Pine, were then taken into custody.

Deputies determined that the three suspects had engaged the victims, William Jack Duckworth and Paulette Smith, both of La Pine, in a verbal dispute and displayed a black handgun while the victims were pulled over on Burgess Road.

Smith was driving Duckworth's vehicle and there were three minor children in the vehicle at the time. Smith began to leave the area and the suspects began to chase their vehicle. At one point, Sole pointed a handgun out the right front window and fired the pistol in the direction of the victim's vehicle.

The victims were able to call 911 to report the incident as they were driving. No injuries were reported to anyone involved in this incident and there was no evidence that the victim vehicle had been struck by any of the gunshots.

Only a BB gun was located in Schmidtke's vehicle when he was arrested. This information led investigators to believe there was a firearm that had been discarded by the suspects as they fled on foot. A Redmond Police Department K-9 was requested to respond to the area where Sole and Pickett were located. The K-9 team was able to locate a Glock 9mm handgun and a loaded magazine, which were seized as evidence.

Sole, Schmidtke and Pickett were all lodged at the Deschutes County Adult Jail. Schmidtke was charged with Attempted Robbery I, felon in possession of a firearm, five counts of menacing and five counts of recklessly endangering another person.

Sole was charged with Attempted Assault I, Attempted Robbery I, felon in possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful use of a weapon, five counts of menacing and five counts of recklessly endangering another person.

Pickett was charged with Criminal Trespass I and a probation violation.

The Deschutes County Sheriff's Office Detective Division is continuing this investigation.