Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office arrested a man after responding to multiple reports of shots fired at multiple locations in Milton-Freewater. The suspect in custody is 23-year-old Ricardo Lara Guttierez of Pendleton.
According to the sheriff’s office, deputies responded just after 2 a.m. this morning to a report of multiple shots fired in the area of Ruby Lane in Milton-Freewater. As a sheriff’s deputy and a Milton-Freewater Police Department (MFPD) officer arrived on scene, with a second deputy responding, additional reports came in of shots fired at a residence on Didion Lane followed by reports of shots fired on Crockett Road. Deputies and the MFPD officer responded to the Crocket Road address and located a homeowner in an outbuilding with an unknown male, later identified as Guttierez. As deputies approached, the homeowner grabbed the male and wrestled him to the ground, at which point Guttierez claimed he had a gun and was going to shoot the homeowner if they came closer. A UCSO deputy deployed a taser and Guttierez was arrested. UCSO recovered a handgun and a rifle from Guttierez.
Afterward, deputies contacted the residents at the Ruby Lane address. The residents reported hearing a car door shut at around 2 a.m., and then saw the male entering their vehicles. According to the sheriff’s office, one of the residents on Ruby Lane fired a shot into the air to scare the man away, and then they heard four gunshots from the southeast of the residence. Three vehicles were discovered to have apparent bullet holes in them. At this time, the bullet holes are believed to have been caused by Guttierez.
Deputies also contacted a resident on Didion Lane, who reported a male had entered her residence through the unlocked front door, entered her bedroom and demanded her vehicle. She told the male to leave three times before he left. She reported a window in her vehicle had been broken.
At this time, UCSO does not have any reason to believe there is an additional threat to the public. Guttierez was lodged at the Umatilla County Jail on multiple felony and misdemeanor charges including first-degree burglary, first-dgree robbery, first-degree kidnapping, first-degree criminal mischief, pointing a firearm at another, three counts of criminal trespass with firearm, menacing, resisting arrest, unauthorized entry of motor vehicle, and outstanding warrants. The investigation is on-going, said the sheriff’s office.
