Eagle Point burglars arrested after ‘vigilant’ citizens call cops

Published 4:45 pm Thursday, July 13, 2023

Two men and a woman from Grants Pass who are all on probation were arrested for an Eagle Point burglary July 11 after “vigilant neighbors” provided authorities information that led to their arrests while they were on the run.

Nathaniel David Anderson, 34, Eli Fredrick White, 31, and Destiny Dezarae Barnett, 26, were lodged in the Jackson County Jail after the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a burglary in progress in the 1500 block of Brentwood Drive outside Eagle Point at 5:48 p.m.

“JCSO would like to recognize the actions taken by the neighbors leading to this arrest and helping us to keep our community safe,” the sheriff’s office stated in a news release.

Neighbors reported hearing glass breaking, followed by Anderson and White allegedly exiting an unoccupied residence with items in hand. The neighbors provided a vehicle description and license plate number to 911 dispatchers.

Around 6 p.m., an Eagle Point Police Department officer going northbound spotted a car matching the description of the suspect vehicle traveling south on Highway 62 near the intersection of Nick Young Road. Sheriff’s deputies intercepted the vehicle on Highway 62 and conducted a traffic stop near the VA Domiciliary in White City, where White, Anderson and Barnett were in their vehicle with the stolen items and a firearm.

The suspects were lodged in jail for first-degree burglary, first-degree theft, felon in possession of a firearm and probation violations, according to jail records. Their vehicle had been rented through the car rental company Turo, the sheriff’s news release said.

Aaron Lewis, public information officer for the sheriff’s office, praised the neighbors who provided information to law enforcement so they could make arrests.

“There’s no way law enforcement would have been able to make that arrest in 9 minutes,” without the information, Lewis said in an interview Thursday.

Lewis said deputies normally deal with “cold burglaries,” which are reported after a property owner returns home. Such cases are harder to investigate, Lewis noted.

But a burglary in progress like the one reported Tuesday is “higher up” on the level of calls for service among deputies, Lewis said. As such, the sheriff’s office was able to send them immediately to the crime scene.

“There’s very few of us patrolling a very large area, which is Jackson County, so the more neighbors can do, which is be a good witness, the better,” Lewis said. “That’s exactly what this neighbor did.”

“The best thing neighbors can do is look out for each other,” Lewis added.

While he doesn’t want neighbors to “get in harm’s way,” Lewis encouraged them to be vigilant in obtaining information and providing it to law enforcement.

Oregon court records show that Anderson has been arrested numerous times going back to 2008, with convictions in 2012 for burglary and theft.

White has had numerous arrests and previous convictions for theft and forgery, according to court records.

Barnett has also been arrested multiple times, with convictions for unlawful use of a weapon, assault and criminal mischief.