K9 RICO CAPTURES ROBBERY SUSPECT AFTER PURSUIT

Deschutes Co. Sheriff's Office

On March 20, 2022, at approximately 1:51pm, deputies with the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office were advised by dispatch that a car salesman was reporting he had just been forced out of a black 2019 Lincoln Navigator during a test drive on Powell Butte Highway near the intersection with Someday Way.  The salesman reported the male implied he had a weapon, forced him out, and then drove off on Powell Butte Highway towards Prineville.  The male was later identified as 34-year-old Daniel Lopez of Prineville.

Crook County Sheriff’s Office deputies located the vehicle traveling eastbound on Highway 126.  Deschutes County deputies in the area also spotted the vehicle and initiated a pursuit of the vehicle.  The vehicle drove southbound on Powell Butte Highway and then onto Shumway Road.  The vehicle again turned northbound onto Powell Butte Highway while deputies pursued.  Deputies successfully deployed two sets of spike strips that managed to disable the vehicle’s tires.  Deputies followed the vehicle into a private driveway where it drove through a barbed-wire fence.  Daniel Lopez then ran away from the disabled vehicle and led deputies on a foot chase through a field. 

DCSO Deputy McNee successfully deployed his partner, K9 Rico, who captured Lopez during the foot chase and held onto him until deputies could take him into custody.  During the capture, Lopez brandished a firearm before tossing it away. 

Lopez was transported to St. Charles Medical Center to treat minor injuries sustained from the K9 capture.  He was then transported and lodged into the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office Adult Jail on the charges mentioned below.

Charges: Robbery I, Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle, Menacing, Attempt to Elude (felony), Attempt to Elude (misdemeanor), Reckless Driving, Felon in Possession of a Firearm, Reckless Endangering, Criminal Mischief II, In-State Warrant (UUMV). 

DCSO and CCSO deputies were also assisted by Prineville PD and Oregon State Police. 

The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office is a full service agency that oversees the adult jail, provides patrol, criminal investigations, civil process and search and rescue operations. Special units include SWAT, Marine Patrol, ATV Patrol, Forest Patrol, along with five K9 teams. Founded in 1916 and today led by your duly elected Sheriff L. Shane Nelson, the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office serves over 200,000 residents in Deschutes County. The agency has 259 authorized and funded personnel, which includes 191 sworn employees who provide services to the 3,055 square miles of Deschutes County.