Bend man arraigned for attempted murder

Published 5:00 am Thursday, April 14, 2005

A Bend man who rammed two patrol vehicles and was shot by a deputy during a 35-mile chase on April 4 was arraigned on Wednesday for multiple charges, including two counts of attempted murder.

Gregory Lee Willis, 43, was charged with a total of 19 counts in an indictment issued by a grand jury on Tuesday, including felony assault, recklessly endangering another, DUII, reckless driving and attempting to elude a police vehicle.

According to a press release, the chase began when a Deschutes County sheriff’s deputy stopped Willis for speeding. Willis reversed his pickup into the deputy’s vehicle, totaling it.

Willis then led police west on South Century Drive where, at one point, he stopped and rammed into a second patrol car. A deputy shot Willis when he tried to ram the vehicle a second time, the release said.

Willis drove off the highway onto a Forest Service road, where his truck became stuck in the snow. He fled on foot. He was arrested after a police dog found him hiding in a tree.

The shooting incident was investigated by a tri-county Major Incident Team, composed of law enforcement officers from several agencies, led by the Oregon State Police.

Willis was released on $75,000 bail at the time of the chase, on charges that he fired multiple rounds into the Timbers South tavern on March 7. He was charged with multiple counts of assault, recklessly endangering another, criminal mischief, unlawful use of a weapon and DUII after the Timbers incident.

Willis was treated for a gunshot wound at St. Charles Medical Center-Bend after the chase, and released to the Deschutes County jail. He was being held on $450,000 bail on Wednesday, according to a jail official.

Willis is scheduled to enter a plea on both cases in Deschutes County Circuit Court on April 26.

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