Thefts from vehicles and recovered stolen property

Bend Police Dept. - 01/18/19


Over the past couple months, the Intelligence-Led Policing(ILP) Unit noticed a pattern of vehicles being broken into in the area of NW College Way near NW Regency.  Property had been stolen from unlocked vehicles in this area and in different locations around Bend. Bend Police found personal property had been taken from vehicles to include credit cards, speakers, light bars, sports equipment and tools.  The vehicles were parked in parking lots and in the roadways.

During the investigation, Bend Police found stolen credit cards from the thefts were used at around 25 different businesses in Bend and Redmond, with some being used at the same businesses multiple times.  Bend Police found there were a total of 36 different fraudulent credit card transactions.

Through video surveillance, officers with the ILP team identified the suspects who unlawfully used the stolen credit cards as Jonathan Nickless and Matthew New. 

On January 17 at 4:19pm, officers with the Bend Police Department and the Central Oregon Drug Enforcement Team (CODE) contacted and arrested Jonathan Nickless and Matthew New outside the residence located at 2769 NE Broken Bow Drive in Bend.  Officers also had previously applied for, and were issued a search warrant for that location.  During the investigation, officers recovered stolen property from the residence including stolen credit cards, speakers, light bars, construction equipment, consistent with property listed as stolen from the previously reported thefts.

At 7:55pm, Bend Police served an additional search warrant at 551 NE Larch Avenue in Redmond.  Officers recovered additional stolen property including more construction equipment and items purchased with the stolen credit cards. It is estimated that the value of all the recovered stolen property is around $10,000.  Bend Police have been able to close multiple theft cases and are still working on returning property to different property owners.

Both Jonathan Nickless and Matthew New were taken to the Deschutes County Adult Jail.  Both Nickless and New were lodged on (7) counts of Unlawful Entry into Motor Vehicles, (1) count of Theft I, (36) counts of Fraudulent Use of a Credit Card and (36) counts of Identity Theft. As the investigation continues, it is possible additional charges will be added to both New and Nickless.

The Bend Police Department would like to encourage our community to file a report if they have had thefts from their vehicles. Our Intelligence Led Policing Team is continually monitoring criminal reports to try to identify problems that affect the livability in our community. Reporting can be done through contacting Deschutes County Non-Emergency Dispatch at 541-693-6911 or through our online reporting. On-line reporting can be accessed through the following url:

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