Theft suspect caught in mountain cave after crime-spree
TURNER, Ore. – A man who led authorities on a 25-mile chase through Marion County that ended with his capture in cave near the top of a 5,000-foot mountain had just been released from prison before his crime-spree on Friday afternoon, Marion County sheriff’s deputies said.
Robert Atkinson, 23, stole a truck and other property from the Cascade School District maintenance yard in Turner, and later another truck parked at a gas station in Stayton, Ore. before the chase began, Marion County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Don Thomson said.
Investigators said Atkinson broke into the school district’s maintenance yard and searched many of the district’s vehicles for valuable items. He stole computers, parts and cables from one vehicle and loaded it all into a maintenance truck, which he then hot-wired and stole, Thomson said.
Atkinson apparently sold some of the district’s property before his next stop at a Bi-Mart in Stayton, where investigators said he stole bags of dog food, potting soil and planter boxes that were displayed outside the store. Investigators said he then parked the stolen truck near a Chevron gas station and loaded some of the stolen items into a Ford F150 parked about 1,000 feet away and drove off.
Click on the maps to follow the alleged thefts and chase.
View Marion County chase in a larger map
The truck’s owner reported his stolen vehicle to police. A Marion County sheriff’s deputy spotted Atkinson driving the stolen truck on Old Mehama Road near Highway 22.
Deputies said Atkinson drove at speeds too dangerous for them to follow, so they alerted other deputies and authorities to watch out for Atkinson. Another deputy spotted him in Mill City and began a chase that took him through Lyons, Mill City and Gates before Atkinson turned south toward Monument Peak, two miles west of Detroit Lake.
Deputies said Atkinson was driving at 60-70 mph in the small cities.
State police troopers, Stayton police, Linn County sheriff’s deputies and Forest Service officers joined the chase. Atkinson led them on several gravel fire roads and jumped from the moving truck near the top of the mountain, where he ran into the woods.
A deputy and a K-9 tracked Atkinson for about ½ mile. Deputies said the K-9 named Rolo found Atkinson hiding face-down in a small cave near a creek. When he refused to surrender, Rolo bit Atkinson and a deputy took him into custody.
In an interview at the Marion County Jail, Atkinson told deputies that bought the computer parts from a man he didn’t know. He admitted that he had just been released from prison after serving a 16-month sentence for a burglary in Jefferson, Ore.
Atkinson faces the following charges:
- Unlawful use of a vehicle (2 counts)
- Unlawful entry into a vehicle
- Theft
- Felony elude
- Possession of stolen property
- An outstanding parole violation
Deputies said both stolen trucks were returned to their owners.
Yes folks, this is our modern day Rambo on meth........Rolo drew first blood!Â
at least,, he did not wreck the trucks,, but that is about all that is in his favor....
Lord in the name of Jesus i pray you deliver him from all drug,s and put him back on the right track in life
@Sherry L Campbell @Molly Head Feel free to do your praying silently.  I read somewhere that prayers only get answered if they're spoken in your head.....as an added bonus, praying silently clears out those pesky voices you hear most of the time.
meth heads on the run are always a good chase
I wonder if NIKE will drop him of the list just like it did with Tiger.
Not making any excuses for this mope loser, but what does a poor dumb uneducated loser like this do when he leaves a jail stretch with, what, no money, and, even if he was so inclined, couldn't get a job due to the criminal record . . . just posing the question, folks.
@MD20-20Â
In Multnomah County, prison releases are given 90 days of free housing and referrals to felony-friendly employers. Â The only people who can't succeed on supervision here are jackasses like this guy who just don't want to succeed.
@StealthActivist What prisons are in Multnomah County? I didn't know they had a program such as this. Can you link some info?
@StealthActivist That's great information, Stealth. Thank you for taking the time to post it.
People in prisons all over Oregon get released to their home county, regardless of which prison they're released from. It's the Multnomah County Dept. of Community Justice, not the state prison system, that gives parolees 90 days of subsidized housing if they have no place to go when they come home to Multnomah County. The housing is in downtown slingle-room occupancy hotel rooms, which is nothing fancy, but still better than being homeless.  This gives offenders who want to turn their lives around an opportunity to do so, while the ones who won't comply with the housing rules, especially those requiring residents to stay clean and sober, usually end up running amok and committing new crimes. But they can't claim no one would give them a chance. Multnomah County DCJ provides many services to parolees -- not just housing -- to assist them with transition back into the community. Other countys make similar efforts to assist parolees, but may or may not have as many resources ailable as Multnomah County does.Â
http://web.multco.us/dcj-adult/tsu
There is only one state prison I'm aware of in Multnomah County, the Columbia River Correctional Institut in NE PDX.Â
http://www.oregon.gov/DOC/OPS/PRISON/pages/crci.aspx
@MD20-20 Rob banks. The federal prisons are nicer.
@MD20-20 get a job in mexico?
One man crime spree. He must have a nice cave for him to be able to use all the electronics he stole.
Face down in a cave? Sounds more like face down in hole.Â
Some people don't know their butt...er cave from a hole in the ground.
A very creative lad and would make a great legislator in the current regime - always use someones else's money...
Robert Atkinson, you need to make better career choices. Lets face it, at 23 years of age, you're a total failure as a crook.
Gee, I posted elsewhere about Meth heads, etc. blowing holes in their brains. He's obviously no longer capable of rational thought and needs to be locked up for life. I'll be surprised if he sees 30.
Look kids if you don't want to spend your final days wearing an adult diaper in a locked facility don't take drugs!! And yes if there is enough brain damage you will be incontinent for life.
to fast for them to follow. either he is one damn good driver like my brother who races professionally or the officers flat did not hve a death wish. or are getting soft on here skills. speaking of wich are they no longer using spike strips?Â
I know we have institutions for the Criminally Insane but I am starting to think we need them for the Criminally Stupid!
It's so easy to get arrested even a caveman can do it. (a caveman angrily rises and leaves the room after hearing my comment)
From the article: ". . . investigators said he stole bags of dog food, potting soil and planter boxes that were displayed outside the store."
Sounds like he has a guard dog and was planning a grow op.
@Gravity Works! Looks like he just got some up close and personal demonstrations on guard dog training (by the looks of his face) by the K-9 officer!
Some people were born to live in prison.
@RalphCramden Now if our officials would quit making it comfortable, reduce costs and force labor... prison would be an excellent place for taxpayers to fund.
@Funky-Munky  There is no way anyone in prison should have a TV in their cell, access to internet, phones and all the other benefits they get. A room (cell) a couple of meals a day...set by minimum calories, fashioned after the Sheriff in New Mexico, and daily "release" time doing hard labor. If they don't like it, and refuse to work, solitary confinement. A small "attitude adjustment" like solitary should change thier minds, if not they can live there forever!
@flyingtime @Funky-Munky Maybe you're talking about Sheriff Joe from Arizona?  Here's how that whole solitary confinement works out in real life:  http://www.kptv.com/story/21546824/inmate-awarded-155-million-for-spending-22-months-in-solitary-confinement
@Funky-Munky We need once again to impose hard labor as criminal punishment and get it through the loonies' heads that it's not "cruel and unusual", but is justified.
Here's your sign L...Loser!
@Funky-Munky Oh, where is Max Headroom when he's really needed? L-l-l-loser!
Unlawful use of a vehicle?
Now we have PC'd crime? Didn't it used to be Grand theft-Auto?
Unlawful entry into a vehicle used to be breaking and entering.
@Owt_Raged Yep.... we call em' convicts... LIBERALS call them OFFENDERS! Don't want to scar them little rascals....
Glad he didn't run over anyone in the towns he was speeding through!
He does look very thin. I would guess that he's a meth user. Very sad. Meth lies to you, big-time. Cocaine is actually safer to use than meth. And coffee is safer yetâso just stick to a cuppa joe if you want to "speed." :-0
@pork chop How did he get meth in prison?
@pork chop Yep looks like a meth face for sure...
How come his EVIDENCE -BASED PRISON PROGRAMS FAILED?
Why wasn't Mr. Atkinson placed in REAL HOUSING & EMPLOYED in a LIVING-WAGE CAREER upon release from OSP?
@August100 Enough taxes? After the politicians have a go there's only kibble to toss to the mutts upon release.... That means next to zero effort for rehabilitation.Â
It is all because you don't pay enough taxes.
@2012 Hope and Change I remember a cartoon where Elmer Fudd won $1,000,000 , after he paid his taxes he still owed $0.13 cents.
why do you keep letting them out after you lock them up? stop it!
@john Uhmmm, because it's the law?
I hope the dog had his rabies shot, so he won't catch it from this numbskull. He looks rabid to me
How has he been getting his meth in the slammer?
@PinkLeopard I do believe those are bite marks, not meth sores on his face.
Good doggie!
@WhenCowsAttack @PinkLeopard You are correct, I was looking at the old booking photo. Still, from his actions it sounds like he scored some crystal within minutes of exiting his "home away from home."
@WhenCowsAttack @PinkLeopard OUCH!!! Good doggie indeed...
Nice work Rolo. Â I hope you bit him really hard.
Back to jail for this tool. Â Lucky no one was hurt.
Good boy, Rolo! Nice bite! Here's your soup bone!
How about life this time.
Apparently 16 months wasnt long enough.
...somewhere in all of this is a joke about a "man cave" but I can't quite seem to pull it together.
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My thoughts and prayers are with the victims of theft.