Idaho Man Arrested at Closed Chevron Station With Drugs, Weapons

Oregon State Police Trooper Tristan Sand was patrolling near the east end of Baker City just after midnight when he pulled up to the Chevron station at 275 Campbell Street and stepped out of his cruiser. As he got out, he saw a man walk out of a side door at the station.

Stephen Spencer Grossman, 35, of Kimberly, Idaho, was arrested about 12:54 a.m. outside the Chevron station at 275 Campbell St., east of the freeway. He was holding a switchblade knife and a gas can.

According to a probable cause affidavit written by Trooper Sand, a suspicious person was reported to be at the Chevron station around 12:30 a.m., and the business' burglar alarm also went off. Baker City Police and Oregon State Police personnel responded to the east side of Baker City, on Campbell Street, for the report of a commercial security alarm.

Sand asked the man, who he later identified as Grossman, if he was an employee. Grossman answered that he was not. What followed was a sequence of admissions that traced the entire break-in. Grossman told Sand he needed gas, and that he entered the station through an unlocked door. Grossman said he knew the station was closed. He found a gas can inside and took it.

The switchblade drew particular scrutiny. Grossman told Sand he was carrying the knife because he thought he would need it to break into the station. The switchblade knife was placed by officers into safekeeping.

A search of Grossman turned up more than a blade and a borrowed gas can. Sand found a bag in Grossman's front pants pocket that contained a pipe for smoking methamphetamine and a bag with white powder. Sand wrote that he believed the powder was meth, "based on my training and experience," and estimated the amount as less than 2 ounces.

Grossman is charged with second-degree burglary, a Class C felony, third-degree theft, a Class C misdemeanor, and unlawful possession of methamphetamine, a misdemeanor.

Grossman was arraigned Tuesday afternoon in Baker County Circuit Court. He was taken to the Baker County Jail after his arrest and then released after posting bail of $1,500, which is 10% of the $15,000 bail set, according to court records. He is scheduled to enter a plea to the charges March 30.