Deputies: 3 men planned to smoke meth, burglarize home

By KATU.com Staff Published: Feb 11, 2013 at 4:15 PM PDT Last Updated: Apr 26, 2013 at 1:26 PM PDT

HILLSBORO, Ore. – Washington County sheriff’s deputies arrested three men who they said were planning to smoke methamphetamine and break into a woman’s house in Hillsboro Saturday night.

The three men had the woman’s license, credit cards and keys. Deputies learned the items were stolen from a parked car at Mt. Hood earlier in the day, according to Sgt. David Thompson.

A deputy stopped an SUV for changing lanes without a turn signal at around 6:20 p.m. on Saturday and found the stolen items inside the vehicle. The driver, 43-year-old John Phillips of Portland, told the deputy that he and his two passengers found the credit cards, license and keys and were on their way to return them to the owner.

Deputies also spotted a glass pipe used for smoking meth in the SUV’s center console. They brought a drug dog to search the car and found about four grams of meth.

The three men later told deputies they were about the smoke meth and burglarize the woman’s home, Thompson said. Deputies found a baseball bat, a large kitchen knife and a crow bar in the SUV.

The traffic stop happened about one mile from the woman’s home, Thompson said. The woman was home at the time.

Deputies arrested Phillips and his two passengers, 27-year-old Nicholas Teegarden and 31-year-old Joseph M. Landers, on charges of conspiracy to commit burglary, attempted burglary and possession of burglary tools.

Phillips also faces drug charges and one count of driving with a revoked license.

All three men have previously been arrested numerous times for a wide range of charges, including burglary, assault, drug charges and weapons charges, Thompson said.