UPDATE: Motorcyclist fires guns in front of police investigating stolen bikes, 4 arrested
A police investigation into stolen motorcycles Thursday morning resulted in one motorcyclist firing gunshots into the air, a vehicle chase and four arrests, according to the Salem Police Department.
Police searched a car and a storage unit in south Salem, seizing a short-barreled shotgun, a handgun, body armor and several pieces of stolen mail, the agency said in a news release Thursday night.
Two separate investigations involving stolen motorcycles brought detectives to a storage facility in the 1800 block of Southeast 22nd Street.
Detectives found one of the stolen motorcycles and three suspects at the storage facility. The two adults and one teenager tried to escape in a vehicle but were arrested, according to the police statement.
Police arrested Zakiry Davis, 18, of Salem, and Natalie G. Hefley, 32, of Mill City. They were booked into Marion County Jail on accusations of vehicle theft.
A 15-year-old boy was also detained and taken to the Marion County Juvenile Department.
As police were still investigating Thursday morning, two motorcyclists drove up near the storage facility. One of them fired multiple gunshots into the air “in plain sight of the officers” before the motorcyclists sped away, police said.
Police found the two motorcyclists 15 minutes later and nearly 3 miles from the storage facility. Police pursued one suspect for another mile until he hit a curb and crashed near the intersection of Southeast Lancaster Drive and Southeast Rickey Street.
Police arrested the suspect who crashed, Zayn F. Bristow, 25, of Mill City. They did not find the second one.
Bristow was lodged at Marion County Jail on accusations of unlawful use of a motor vehicle, possession of a stolen vehicle, possessing body armor as a felon, eluding police, reckless driving, mail theft and identity theft.
This story was updated after Salem police published a news release Thursday night with additional information.
Contact reporter Ardeshir Tabrizian: [email protected] or 503-929-3053.
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Ardeshir Tabrizian has covered the justice system and public safety for Salem Reporter since September 2021. As an Oregon native, his award-winning watchdog journalism has traversed the state. He has done reporting for The Oregonian, Eugene Weekly and Malheur Enterprise.
