Five months into Bend murder investigation, authorities provide few details

Published 5:45 am Friday, March 31, 2023

More than five months after Leonard Raymond Peverieri was shot and killed in the driveway of his Bend-area home, law enforcement officials have released few details about what might have happened.

The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office and district attorney’s office are still investigating Peverieri’s death at his home on Los Serranos Drive on the morning of Oct. 9 as a murder, according to District Attorney Steve Gunnels.

“Law enforcement has identified people who are of interest in the investigation and individuals who could be classified as suspects,” Gunnels said in an interview with The Bulletin.

Gunnels declined to elaborate further on who the potential suspects might be.

He said police are still investigating possible motives behind the killing.

No arrests have been made, and Gunnels declined to confirm whether or not authorities have recovered a firearm, how many times Peverieri was shot, or where.

Peverieri was a father and a prolific real estate investor in Central Oregon, buying properties and buildings and later selling or leasing them, according to court records.

He had assets that totaled more than $37 million, including property in Bend, Prineville and Lebanon, Oregon, and the ghost town of Millican, which sits roughly 25 miles east of Bend along U.S. Highway 20.

He had partnership interests in a $22.5 million apartment complex in Eugene, a $2.8 million Shell gas station on Highway 20, and the $1.45 million Brewed Awakenings coffee roasters on NE 27th street in Bend.

A protective order filed in Deschutes County Circuit Court provides a glimpse into the ongoing investigation and suggests authorities have inquired about Peverieri’s business entities.

Peverieri’s personal representative, Penny Schaal, filed a motion in the matter of his estate on Dec. 8. It states the Deschutes County District Attorney’s Office wanted information that would otherwise be protected through lawyer-client privilege by interviewing “one or more individuals who served as legal counsel for (Peverieri) or his business entities before his death,” according to the records.

Schaal asked the court to allow the district attorney’s office to interview Peverieri’s business associates. Deschutes County Circuit Court Judge Raymond Crutchley granted Schaal’s request, stating she “has determined that it is in the interest of (Peverieri’s) estate” and that the order is “not embarrassing to (Peverieri’s) reputation,” according to court documents.

Crutchley’s ruling authorized Gunnels to serve subpoenas “to any former attorney of (Peverieri) from whom the District Attorney seeks discovery in connection with the criminal investigation of (Peverieri’s) death.” Any subpoenas would be provided within five business days to Schaal, who “will assess whether disclosure of the information responsive to the subpoena is in the interest of the estate and not harmful to the reputation of” Peverieri, the order said.

The order said the state could use any information gained “solely for lawful purposes associated with its criminal investigation of (Peverieri’s) death and any subsequent criminal prosecution of any persons by the District Attorney,” according to court records.

Gunnels declined to elaborate on the protective order. He said, “Investigators are looking at all possible angles and motives.”

When pressed about whether or not Peverieri’s business dealings were among his office’s inquiries, he said: “We’ve looked at business dealings as well as other possible motives.”

Gunnels said murder investigations can take months to multiple years before authorities have amassed ample evidence for charges to be filed. He pointed to two long-term homicide cases in his career — those against Kenneth Wayne “Ken” Atkinson, which is pending, and Darrell Middlekauff, who was found guilty of aggravated murder and first-degree murder.

“It takes as long as it takes,” he said.