Thread: Police say man arrested in vehicle stolen from refuge

Police say man arrested in vehicle stolen from refuge

Keith Ridler, Associated Press
Updated 5:43 pm, Friday, January 15, 2016

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Photo: Keith Ridler, AP


The Malheur National Wildlife Refuge near Burns, Ore., is seen from atop an old fire lookout on Friday, Jan. 15, 2016. A small, armed group has been occupying the refuge since Jan. 2 to protest federal land use ... more


BURNS, Ore. (AP) — Oregon State Police arrested a man Friday they said was driving a government vehicle stolen from a wildlife refuge being occupied by an armed group protesting federal land policies.

Kenneth Medenbach, 62, of Crescent was arrested at a grocery store in Burns for investigation of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, authorities said.

It was unclear if he was one of the men occupying Malheur National Wildlife Refuge or if he has a lawyer.

Authorities also say they recovered a second stolen vehicle from the refuge but provided no other details. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service previously reported the vehicles had been stolen.

So far authorities have not tried to remove the group from the refuge as the standoff hits the two-week mark. As it drags on, people in the high desert area are growing increasingly weary and wary of the group.

http://www.chron.com/news/science/ar...im-6761553.php

Oregon Militaman Arrested For Stealing Government Vehicles

• Daniel White @danielatlarge

6:40 PM ET

Joe Raedle—Getty Images

Ken Medenbach prepares to paste a Harney County sticker on the side of a U.S. Government vehicle as a group continues to occupy the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge headquarters near Burns, Oregon, on Jan. 15, 2016.

First arrest linked to occupation of federal wildlife refuge

An man in Oregon linked to the armed militia group that has occupied a federal building for the past two weeks was arrested in the town of Burns by local police Friday and charged with stealing two government vehicles.

Oregon State Police say they arrested Kenneth Medenbach, 62, after recovering two U.S. Fish and Wildlife vehicles “previously” reported stolen to the local sheriff’s office in Burns.

Medenbach, who is currently on federal probation for an earlier militia-related incident, is the first person to be arrested in connection with the armed protest and occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, according to The Oregonian.

The group took over the Malheur refuge to protest the arrest of two ranchers facing jail time for setting a fire on federal lands. Occupiers are calling for less federal control of lands in the Western United States. A meeting between protesters and the local community set to be held Friday night was cancelled after county officials denied the group usage of county-owned fairgrounds, according to local news station KTVZ.

Medencach was arrested in a grocery store parking lot, reports The Oregonian, in the driver’s seat of one of the vehicles. The other vehicle was parked next to it, but authorities assumed the person driving it had been inside the grocery store.

Both vehicles—a pickup truck and a passenger van—were still sporting federal government license plates, but were marked “Harney County Resource Center,” the new name protesters have given the wildlife refuge.

http://time.com/4183357/oregon-milit...malheur-burns/

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Photo: Keith Ridler, AP

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A man gets into a truck at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge near Burns, Ore., Friday, Jan. 15, 2016. The group that has been occupying the refuge since Jan. 2 has been calling it the Harney County Resource Center

http://www.chron.com/news/science/ar...#photo-9258171