Pursuit case leads to more arrests

At 11:30 p.m., Deputy Ted Longton, one of two officers investigating the burglary, attempted to stop a truck driven by a man he suspected of committing the burglary.

The driver of the truck, Drake Bettinger, 35, of Brook­ings, refused to pull over and sped south. There were two passengers in the car: Shane Clark, 37, of Brook­ings, and Amanda Evans, 21.

The chase reached speeds of up to 100 mph as the suspects drove on Highway 101 to the Oregon/California border.

The chase continued into Del Norte County, where a California Highway Patrol officer put down a tack-strip on Highway 101 near the KOA campground that punctured two of the truck’s tires. Bettinger continued to drive the disabled truck through Crescent City at 80 mph until it quit working and stopped about 12 miles south of town.

The three suspects were arrested without incident. Bet­tinger was lodged in Del Norte County Jail on suspicion of eluding police and is expected to be charged in Curry County on the same charge as well as suspicion of burglary, theft and possession of meth­amphet­amine. Clark and Evens were released.

On Monday morning, Curry County Sheriff’s dep­uties and volunteers with the Sheriff’s Search and Rescue began combing a 5-mile stretch of roads in Oregon. At the same time, a similar search was being conducted on Highway 101 in California. The goal was to find drug and burglary evidence the suspects had been seen tossing from the truck during the pursuit.

By 1 p.m., a deputy had found several small baggies with chalky, white material inside, pieces of a broken syringe and a partially-loaded gun cartridge in Harbor.

More evidence linking the suspects to the Brookings burglary was found during a warrant search of the suspects’ truck in Crescent City, Bishop said.

On Monday and Tuesday  members of law enforcement agencies in both Curry County and Del Norte County conducted interviews with people known to associate with the three involved in the chase. Authorities identified additional suspects either involved with the burglary itself or receiving the stolen property, Bishop said.

Bishop encouraged anybody who has recently received jewelry from a questionable source to call the Curry County Sheriff’s Office at (541) 247- 3242 or (800) 543-8471.

One of the suspects identified in the course of the investigation was Daniel Nathan Matlock, a 30-year-old Brook­ings transient and registered predatory sex offender. Mat­lock was arrested at 5:30 p.m. Monday outside a storage unit, but not before he tried to escape several times, Bishop said.

During his arrest, Matlock attempted to escape with the help of his girlfriend, Heather Ann Speir, 20, the daughter of the burglary victims, authorities said. Speir was arrested on suspicion of interfering with a police officer.

Oregon State Police Trooper Jess Oliver was transporting Matlock to the county jail when Matlock tried to escape again by kicking out the rear windshield of the patrol car. Oliver pulled over on Chetco Avenue near Hillside Avenue  to investigate the damage when Matlock crawled out the window. He was quickly recaptured by Oliver and sheriff’s Deputy Rod McAllister, who was following behind in another patrol car. Matlock was put in the second car and transported to the jail.

Matlock and Speir will likely be charged with more crimes in the coming days, Bishop said. Other people of interest are being questioned and, as the investigation continues, Bishop expected more arrests to be made.

“All these people are known to us; most of them have criminal histories,” Bishop said. “We have people who use dope and hang together, and when one of them gets in trouble, the others get involved and, in a drug haze, start making bad decisions.”

The Thompson Road burglary was the fourth major burglary in Curry County in the last five days, Bishop said.

“All four burglaries were solved and most of the property has been recovered, with the exception of the Speir burglary,” he said.