Bend Man in Custody for Allegedly Firing Gun After Threatening to Kill Dog Walker, Neighbors' Dogs - The Source

A Bend resident threatened to shoot and kill a man and the dog he was walking in northeast Bend on Wednesday evening. The suspect, arraigned this afternoon, is 50-year-old Joshua Lee Russell, who allegedly also swore to kill all the dogs in the neighborhood.

He’s accused of shouting this threat numerous times before opening fire.

Sometime around 8:45 pm on Aug. 12, Bend Police received a report from a man who said he’d been walking along Rainier Drive when his dog started barking at deer. The caller pulled his dog away and kept walking. Then he heard a man shouting threats at him from a home at 2726 NE Great Horned Place, according to court records.

The man told police that, after walking past the home that turned out to be Russell’s, he saw a man emerge with a long black object and heard what seemed to be the racking of a rifle. The walker then heard multiple gunshots. Several neighbors called 911 to say they heard the same.

Members of the Central Oregon Emergency Response team responded to the home and set up a perimeter, then called Russell out of the home. Authorities detained Russell without incident and transported him to the Deschutes County Adult Jail on suspicion of various felonies and misdemeanors.

Detectives executed a search warrant at the NE Great Horned Place residence, where they found eight spent casings in a trash can, an AR-style rifle, ammunition and magazine. They also found evidence that Russell had allegedly shot that firearm into the grass in the yard; bullet holes were found in Russell’s fence, according Deputy District Attorney Kyle Fleming.

Russell’s security amount was set at $60,000, 10% of which he’d have to pay to post bail. He said he’d talk with an attorney before making an argument for release in the future. With regards to the alleged violation of his probation, stemming from a DUII conviction. That security was set at $10,000.

Russell is due back in court for an arraignment on indictment on Aug. 20 at 1:30 pm. It’s not yet clear which attorney will represent Russell.
On Aug. 12, the day of the incident, there was a large police presence in the neighborhood for about four hours, including members of the Central Oregon Emergency Response Team, an interagency SWAT unit managed by the Bend PD, and its armored vehicles and drones.

Still in jail, Russell appeared virtually for his arraignment before Judge Beth Bagley, who told Russell that a conviction of the three felonies, the maximum punishment would be five years in prison and fines would total no more than $125,000. Bagley additionally told Russell that the allegation that he used a firearm in the commission of those offenses means that potential firearm minimum may apply to those sentences. That minimum sentence would be five years in prison. Menacing, a Class A misdemeanor, carries a maximum punishment of no more than one year in jail and no more than $6,250 in fines. A Conviction of the sixth count, disorderly conduct in the second degree, entails no more than six months in jail and no more than $2,500 in fines.

The incident also placed Russell in violation of a 36-month parole stemming from an incident on Nov. 20, 2023. According to court records, Russell pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of intoxicants and criminal driving while suspected or revoked.

If found in violation of his 36-month probation, Russell may get a year-long jail sentence and $6,250 in fines.

Russell’s driving privileges were revoked for life, and he served 75 days in Deschutes County Adult Jail. In addition to completing DUII treatment services, Russell was mandated to pay $523 restitution to the Hanai Foundation, located about a mile from his home, for damaging a tree.
Russell also previously pleaded guilty to a DUII charge in Douglas County in 2000.