Man sentencedto 8 years in prison

A man who in February 2013 led police on a high-speed chase and threatened to kill officers pleaded guilty and was sentenced Friday to more than eight years in prison.

Michael Lee Hanson, 35, pleaded guilty in Deschutes County Circuit Court to several counts of identity theft, two counts of attempting to elude police in a vehicle and one count each of perjury, unlawful use of a computer and unauthorized use of a weapon.

On Valentine’s Day 2013, Hanson tried to elude police, who had been attempting to arrest him on a felony warrant for coercion. Officers tried to pull over Hanson in his Chevy Suburban, but he refused to stop, first heading west out of Redmond, but then heading back toward Redmond on Oregon Highway 126. Hanson pointed a gun at officers several times during the chase and had told officers when they contacted him about the arrest warrant he was “heavily armed” and wasn’t “going to go down without a fight,” according to court testimony from Oregon State Police Sgt. Mitchell Meyer.

Hanson admitted to stealing money market checks from a Redmond resident who had hired him to detail her car. He stole several thousand dollars from her money market account, according to court testimony.

Defense attorney Owyhee Weikel-Magden requested Judge Barbara Haslinger suspend 40 months of Hanson’s 100-month sentence, but Haslinger elected to impose the full sentence asked for by Deputy District Attorney Eric Marvin. Haslinger said Hanson will be eligible for alternative incarceration for the last 20 months of his sentence.

This is not Hanson’s first trip to prison. In 2002, he was sentenced to three years after being caught with more than 900 stolen credit card numbers belonging to Eagle Crest Resort visitors. He pleaded guilty in that case to 48 counts of identity theft, one count of first-degree theft and fraudulent use of a credit card.

Work coming to U.S. Highway 20 east of Bend

The Oregon Department of Transportation will go to bid next week on a $2.1 million project to put sealant on U.S. Highway 20 extending 50 miles east of Bend.

Beginning at Horse Frontage Road, chip seal, an oil and gravel mix, will be put on the roadway and then the mix will be coated with a fog seal. For safety, center lane rumble strips also will be installed the length of the project. Shoulder rumble strips will be installed where the shoulder is wide enough.

The project is the result of an ODOT study between 2008 and 2012. During that time there were 52 crashes, and more than half occurred when vehicles ran off the road. Construction is set to begin this summer.

La Pine firefighters using bus to practice rescues

La Pine residents may recall seeing a yellow school bus behind La Pine Fire Department Station 102 on South Century Drive in recent weeks. The bus is being used by La Pine and Sunriver firefighters as part of a joint heavy rescue extrication class today with the Oregon Department of Public Safety Standards and Training.

The training will give firefighters hands-on experience with a truck-like vehicle. Bus remnants will be removed and recycled into scrap metal after the training.

— Bulletin staff reports