Lane County detectives recover nine stolen firearms in Deadwood burglary, arrests made

A Lane County Sheriff’s property crimes detective recovered nine stolen firearms and ammunition believed taken in a Jan. 30 burglary of a Deadwood home on the 15700 block of Highway 36, the sheriff’s office said in a March 6 news release covering cases 26-0475, 26-0716 and 26-0735. The recovery came after detectives identified suspects and a vehicle from the victim’s security video.

Detectives executed a follow-up search warrant on Feb. 13 and located the nine firearms and ammunition, items investigators say tied directly to the Highway 36 break-in. That same evening deputies from the sheriff’s office Special Response Team and Crisis Negotiation Team served a separate warrant at a property in the 21400 block of Highway 126 east of Noti, where additional stolen firearms and a stolen vehicle, not related to the Highway 36 burglary, were found.

During the Highway 126 warrant service officers located and arrested 38-year-old Beau Russell Anderson of Noti, who was found in possession of a firearm and lodged at the Lane County Jail. Anderson faces charges listed in the sheriff’s office release including Burglary in the 2nd Degree, Aggravated Theft in the 1st Degree, Unlawful Use of a Motor Vehicle, Driving While Suspended - Misdemeanor, and Felon in Possession of a Firearm.

The investigation also involved Oregon State Police detectives. On Feb. 12 an OSP detective located the suspect vehicle near Armitage Park north of Eugene; the vehicle was occupied by 57-year-old Tina Jean Devault of Noti. Officers reported finding about one pound of methamphetamine during a search of the vehicle. Tina Devault was arrested on a parole violation tied to prior convictions for possession of methamphetamine and cocaine, and OSP later filed charges that include Possession of Methamphetamine, Possession of Cocaine, and Delivery of Methamphetamine.

The inquiry traces back to a Jan. 29 traffic stop in Veneta at Territorial Highway and Jeans Road when deputies stopped a pickup hauling a box trailer. The driver, 52-year-old Brian Joseph Mitzel of Veneta, was cited and the trailer seized after deputies determined it had been stolen overnight from an Eugene business. Firearms found in the stolen trailer were returned to their owners; Mitzel was arrested Feb. 4 and faces charges including Felon in Possession of a Firearm and Theft in the First Degree, with jail records showing him in custody as of Feb. 6.

Investigators say not all weapons linked to the Highway 36 burglary have been recovered. The sheriff’s office identified 61-year-old Gilbert Devault of Noti as an outstanding suspect and provided a physical description, 5 feet 10 inches, about 180 pounds, brown hair and blue eyes, saying LCSO believed he may have been staying near the 23000 block of Green Creek Road but was not located during a subsequent search.

The Lane County Sheriff’s Office said the multiagency probe grew into separate recoveries and arrests and that social media widely shared the visible law-enforcement response on Highway 126 during the evening commute. LCSO asks anyone with information about the recovered or outstanding firearms to contact the sheriff’s office at (541) 682-4141 and reference case numbers 26-0475, 26-0716 or 26-0735. The sheriff’s office posted its news release on March 6, with additional local outlets publishing related details on March 7.