On January 30, 2020, at approximately 1700 hours, deputies with the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office were dispatched to a dispute involving a knife in the 52500 block of Doe Lane in La Pine. Deputies learned while enroute that one subject had stabbed another vehicle with a knife and that all the subjects involved in the dispute were likely still in the area.
The first deputy arrived on scene approximately four minutes after the 911 call, along with two Oregon State Police troopers. The three occupants of the Subaru Impreza; Neubaum, Muns, and Bateman, had remained at the scene with their vehicle. The driver of the GMC Yukon, James Littrell, was reported to have been in possession of a knife during the dispute. He was located nearby at his residence and walked out and surrendered to deputies without incident.
An investigation at the scene determined the dispute was the result of a road rage incident that occurred on Highway 97, between Sunriver and La Pine. Both Neubaum and Littrell were driving southbound and engaged in aggressive driving behavior that continued to escalate until the physical confrontation on Doe Lane. Neubaum used his vehicle during the dispute to physical strike Littrell, after Littrell had armed himself with a knife and was standing in the middle of the roadway. Littrell fell onto the hood of the Subaru, which he then drove the knife through the hood of the car. The occupants of the Subaru then got out and a brief physical altercation occurred. Both parties then separated and law enforcement was called to the scene.
Driver Jacob Neubaum was arrested by citation and released from the scene on charges of Reckless Driving and Reckless Endangering. Passenger Kyle Muns was arrested by citation and released from the scene on a charge of Disorderly Conduct II. Passenger Breken Bateman was arrested by citation and released from the scene on a charge of Disorderly Conduct II.
Driver Jimmy Littrell was arrested by citation and released from the scene on charges of Reckless Driving and Disorderly Conduct II. No one was seriously injured in this incident. The 12-year-old female passenger was present during the road rage, but had left the immediate area during the confrontation on Doe Lane.
