Sisters student in custody for Bend killing

A Sisters High School student is in custody in connection with the killing of a man in Drake Park on Friday, April 16.

Bend Police detectives and Deschutes County Sheriff's deputies took 17-year-old senior Steven Withrow into custody without incident at the high school. The school was briefly under lock-down as the arrest was made.

According to Bend Police Department reports, Curtis Dean Kizer, 42, and a friend, both of whom were homeless, were on a path in Drake Park on Friday night. They were approached by three young men, one of whom was allegedly Withrow. After a brief discussion, Withrow allegedly assaulted Kizer. After the assault, the three boys left the area. Kizer died at the hospital that night.

Sisters High School Principal Bob Macauley told The Nugget that at 10 a.m. on Monday, School Resource "Deputy (Tim) Hernandez informed me that the Bend detectives would be coming out to talk to one of our students about the death of the (man) in Drake Park."

Detectives arrived at 10:25 a.m. and police coordinated with school staff to have Withrow called out of class. According to Macauley, Withrow was then escorted off campus by three Bend detectives. According to Macauley, the student was cooperative.

"Once Steve was out of the classroom we were in a five-minute lockdown," the principal said.

In a lockdown, students are cleared out of the halls and accounted for in classrooms. Teachers lock doors and stay with students in the classroom.

"It was strictly precautionary," Macauley said. "We didn't want any kids in the halls or in open areas while this was going on."

Withrow was lodged in jail on a charge of first degree manslaughter.