A 21-year-old man was arrested in Marion County over the weekend after he was accused of stealing a dirt bike from a local residence.
On Saturday, March 2, a Marion County Sheriff’s Office deputy responded to a residence located on SE 249th Avenue in Umatilla in reference to a vehicle theft incident. Upon arrival, the deputy made contact with the male victim who advised that he last saw his 2022 Kawasaki dirt bike parked next to his porch at around 6 p.m. the previous evening, according to the arrest report.
The victim told the deputy that when he woke up on Saturday, his dirt bike was missing. He stated that he had purchased the vehicle from a friend last year, and the deputy noted in the report that its value was approximately $17,000.
The report stated that surveillance cameras on the property captured a male suspect walking onto the property and into the backyard shortly before 4 a.m. on Saturday. Moments later, the suspect was observed walking back towards the front yard and off the property while pushing the victim’s dirt bike.
The deputy noted that the suspect was wearing black pants with small stripes down the side and a gray hoodie over his head. The owner of the property where the theft occurred told law enforcement that the suspect on the video footage was a man named Marquis Loren Timothy Calkins.
According to the report, the deputy responded to Calkins’ residence on SE Highway 42. The deputy observed “dirt bike tire tracks” that went up Calkins’ driveway and to a gate in front of the property. Those tracks then turned around and headed back onto SE Highway 42.
The deputy made contact with Calkins’ girlfriend at the residence, and she stated that she had not seen Calkins since around 2 a.m. on Saturday when he left to drop off the man who previously owned the dirt bike at his residence, which was nearby.
In the report, the deputy responded to the previous dirt bike owner’s home and observed Calkins’ vehicle parked in the driveway. The deputy made contact with the previous owner who “began making statements about (Calkins) and the dirt bike.”
In a post-Miranda interview the previous owner stated that he had talked with Calkins the previous night about how he “wished he had his dirt bike back.” He told the deputy that Calkins “must have taken it upon himself to steal (it) back,” according to the report.
Law enforcement located the stolen dirt bike near a trail off of SE Highway 42, near Calkins’s home. The report stated that the dirt bike was covered by a few branches, and a check of the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) confirmed that it belonged to the victim.
Calkins was quickly located and arrested, and the deputy observed that he was wearing black pants with a large stripe down the side. After being read his Miranda rights, Calkins denied stealing the dirt bike. He further stated that “his fingerprints will be on it” due to helping the victim “work on (the vehicle)” in the past, according to the report.
Calkins was transported to Marion County Jail, and he was released the same day after posting a $2,500 bond. He is being charged with grand theft of a motor vehicle.
A court date has not been scheduled yet, according to jail records.