Bend man arrested at car dealership

A 50-year-old homeless man was arrested for arson after allegedly setting a utility vehicle on fire early Friday morning at Kendall Toyota of Bend.

The fire spread to two nearby cars at the dealership and the estimated damage is more than $60,000, according to Bend Police.

Bend Police and Fire departments responded at about 12:26 a.m. Friday to a report of a vehicle on fire in the fenced parking lot of the dealership.

Responding personnel found a 2007 Polaris Ranger utility vehicle engulfed in flames. Bend firefighters were able to extinguish the fire, but not before flames reached a 2015 Toyota Camry and 2016 Toyota 4Runner. The Camry had been dropped off by a private owner for a routine service and the 4Runner belonged to Kendall Toyota. Both vehicles were damaged by the fire and heat from the utility vehicle.

Police officers found a transient man, Michael Gaskill, inside another vehicle parked in the dealership parking lot.

An investigation found Gaskill was attempting to start a small fire to warm himself in another area of the parking lot and near the utility vehicle earlier in the night.

He initially denied lighting the utility vehicle on fire, but evidence linked Gaskill to both fires, according to police.

Gaskill was arrested and booked on charges of second-degree arson, reckless burning, first-degree criminal mischief, unlawful entry into a motor vehicle and possession of methamphetamine.

Motorcyclist from Terrebonne killed

A 68-year-old Terrebonne man was killed Friday after he lost control of his motorcycle while stopping for traffic on U.S. Highway 97 near Odem Avenue, south of Terrebonne.

Oregon State Police and the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office responded to the crash at about 4:30 p.m. The investigation revealed Robert Constant was traveling northbound on his black 2008 Harley Davidson motorcycle when traffic congestion forced other vehicles to slow in front of him. Constant lost control and his motorcycle slid and crashed into a green 1995 Geo Metro, driven by Traci Sauls, 51, of Culver. Sauls sustained minor injuries from the crash.

Constant was transported to a Redmond area hospital, then taken via air ambulance to a Bend area hospital.

Constant was pronounced dead at the Bend hospital as a result of injuries sustained in the crash, according to the sheriff’s office.

Speed and following distance are believed to be a contributing factor in the crash, the sheriff’s office said.

Teens arrested for mischief in Bend

Two teenage boys were arrested Friday night after allegedly sneaking onto a Bend construction site and using a skid-loader and excavator to intentionally crash into each other, police said.

Bend Police officers responded at 9:56 p.m. to the construction site near NE Victor Place. The officers used a drone and police dog to contain the two boys, a 16-year-old from Bend and a 15-year-old from Redmond.

Police say the Redmond boy ran from the scene and was chased by the police dog and drone. The other boy was arrested without an incident.

The teenagers caused more than $1,000 in damage to the construction equipment, according to Bend Police. Both boys were booked into the Deschutes County Juvenile Detention Center.

The Redmond boy was charged with unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, first-degree criminal mischief, reckless endangering, fleeing or attempting to elude, second-degree criminal trespass, being a minor in possession of alcohol and hit and run.

The Bend boy was charged with unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, first-degree criminal mischief, reckless endangering, minor in possession of alcohol and second-degree criminal trespass.