Car thieves pick wrong
canyon for escape
HEPPNER
G T
50¢
azette
imes
VOL. 136 NO. 50 8 Pages
Wednesday, December 20, 2017
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
TREO hunting group captures two burglary
suspects; shot fired at Rhea Creek resident
The Treo “A” Team out of Yakima, Washington.
By David Sykes
A pair of burglary sus-
pects on the run in a sto-
len Jeep picked the wrong
canyon for escape Sun-
day, when they ran into a
group of bird hunters on
the TREO pheasant hunting
ranch. The hunters captured
them at gun point and held
them there until police ar-
rived.
Daniel Faustino Arce,
28, and Desireea Delane
Devin, 23, were lodged
in jail with a reported
$1,170,000 total bail. Ear-
lier that day they had alleg-
edly stolen a Jeep Cherokee The hunters surround the thieves who had their hands up in the air.
on Upper Rhea Creek, and
then after a high speed
chase by a neighbor crashed
it on the TREO hunting pre-
serve property past Ruggs
off the Heppner-Condon
Highway.
The pair had been run-
ning from Roger Britt, who
tailed them from Upper
Rhea Creek where they Police arrive at the scene
had stolen the Jeep from
Britt’s neighbor. Britt said vehicle had the garage door me.” Britt said he was close Lane and tried to set fire
opener, and they closed the enough he could see the gun to the Jeep on property be-
it was early Sunday
door as they drove out the window, but he was longing to TREO Ranches.
afternoon and he had
by,” he said. Then not hit by the round.
“The guy who works for
been driving past his
he
knew
things
Britt
said
he
then
pulled
me, Pablo Cisneros, came
neighbor’s house and
were
not
right.
over
so
the
passenger
running up and said there
saw that the garage
Britt
said
he
couldn’t
get
a
clear
sec-
was a Jeep Cherokee driv-
door was open, and
j
u
m
p
e
d
i
n
h
i
s
ond
shot
at
him,
and
again
ing all over the place,”
the vehicle was gone.
pickup
and
fol-
started
following
them
but
TREO owner Phil Carlson
“I first knew some-
lowed
close
behind
this
time
at
a
great
distance.
said. Carlson was out on
thing wasn’t right
Daniel
at
a
high
rate
of
He
said
he
followed
the
a bird hunt with a group
when the garage was Faustino Arce
speed
down
Upper
vehicle
down
to
Ruggs
and
from Yakima. Carlson said
open, the vehicle
Rhea
Creek.
He
then
onto
the
Heppner-Con-
some chukars had just come
gone and knowing
said
at
one
point
don
Highway.
“I
wanted
to
up when the hunters saw a
the neighbor was not
the
white
car
fol-
know
which
way
they
went
girl hiding in the sage brush
at home,” Britt said.
lowing
the
Jeep
at
Ruggs,”
he
explained.
about 100 yards away, and
He said he was at the
pulled
over,
but
After
that
Britt
turned
back
then the guy stood up.
garage when the Jeep
Britt
stayed
right
and
stopped
at
Morrow
Carlson said they could
came driving down
with
the
Jeep.
He
County
Sheriff’s
Deputy,
see
a
fire had been started
the road with another
said
that
was
when
Terry
Harper’s,
house
and
in
the
canyon and they
vehicle close behind. Desireea
the
passenger
of
notified
him
so
they
could
grabbed
some water jugs to
He said when the Jeep Delane Devin
the
Jeep
pulled
a
call
911.
go
put
it
out. He said a gas
drove by he could
gun
out
and
fired
Meanwhile
the
thieves
can
was
on fire where the
see it was not his neighbor
off
a
round
in
his
direction.
broke
into
a
shed
on
Valby
thieves
had
tried to torch
behind the wheel, and then
“I
could
see
him
fumbling
Road
and
stole
gas
cans.
the
Jeep.
“We
started put-
something else odd hap-
around
in
there
and
then
From
there,
they
ended
up
ting
two
and
two
together
pened. “The garage door
he
hangs
out
and
fires
at
stuck
in
a
ditch
on
Carlson
at
that
time,”
Carlson
said.
closed. The people in the
Then hunters looked at
each other, and since they
were hunting with shot-
guns, said “let’s go get the
AR15s.” Carlson said they
went to their pickup and
got out AR15 rifles, pis-
tols and even some knives.
The Yakima hunters sur-
rounded the suspects with
guns drawn, while Carlson
went up to get phone ser-
vice and call 911. “Those
Yakima hunters are some-
thing else,” Carlson said
about the group, which after
this event he called the “A”
team. They come to hunt
every year on the ranch,
Carlson said. He said one
of them said, “This is the
real thing.”
“It was a perfect storm,”
Carlson said of the capture.
“It happened that the can-
yon the car thieves went up
was where we were hunt-
ing. And they (the hunters)
had some firepower. They
weren’t going anywhere,”
he said of the suspects.
From there the Oregon
State Police and Morrow
County Sheriff’s Depart-
ment arrived and took the
suspects into custody. They
were lodged in the Umatilla
County Jail with the fol-
lowing charges filed: two
counts of burglary I, one
count of burglary II, two
counts of criminal tres-
pass, one count of theft
over $1,000, one count of
unauthorized use of vehicle
(felony), one count of ar-
son, one count of criminal
mischief II (vandalism)
and one count of attempted
murder (felony). Bail was
set for Arce at $685,000 and
for Devin at $485,000.
Court records show
Arce began serving two
years of probation in August
2016 in Jefferson County
for methamphetamine pos-
session, which he violated
this past August. Devin
faced meth and hydroco-
done possession, unlawful
possession of a gun and
driving under the influence
of intoxicants in 2014 in
Jefferson County. She took
a deal and pleaded guilty
to the meth possession and
entered drug court and a
DUII diversion program.
Devin completed diversion
in November 2015 and the
court dismissed the DUII
case against her. The two
apparently live together in
Madras.
Arce was also involved
and sentenced for crimi-
nal activity on the Warm
Springs Indian Reservation.
In 2012, he pleaded guilty
to a felon in possession of
a firearm in connection to a
drive by shooting and was
sentenced to 37 months in
prison.
Phil’s brother, Clint
Carlson posted pictures
on his Facebook page and
commented, “One take
away from this event: This
is why we have the second
amendment. Law enforce-
ment is a long way away
when felons come knocking
at your property.”
Another great turn out at the 2017 Celebrate Heppner Christmas event
Above: The Worden Family (+1) poses for pictures with Santa and Ms. Claus clockwise
from bottom left: Eva Worden, Lucas Worden, Jaylee Schlaich, Daemon Worden and
Arianna Worden. Photo by David Sykes Right: Scrooge & John Edmundson have a little
fun during dinner at the Celebrate Heppner Christmas event. -Photo by David Sykes
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