LA GRANDE — An Enterprise man arrested after an armed robbery at Island City Market in August 2022 has pleaded guilty and been convicted in Union County Circuit Court.

Trevor Hines, 45, agreed to plead guilty to second-degree robbery during a settlement conference Tuesday, Oct. 10, according to a press release from the Union County District Attorney’s Office. Judge Robert Raschio on Oct. 26 sentenced Hines to 55 months with the Oregon Department of Corrections.

Raschio ruled that Hines will be eligible for early release if he participates in a drug rehabilitation program while in prison. Following his release he will undergo three years of post-prison supervision with a drug and alcohol package. He has also been ordered to repay $1,280 in restitution to Island City Market.

Hines was represented by court-appointed counsel, Baker City attorney Kyra Rohner, according to court records. Chief Deputy District Attorney Ryan Rodighiero prosecuted the case for the state.

Robbery

Deputy Dustin Heath led the investigation for the Union County Sheriff’s Office, according to the press release. He responded to Island City Market shortly before 7:30 p.m. Aug. 20, 2022, after dispatch received a report of an armed robbery that had just occurred at the convenience store.

Kaiya Mesubed told law enforcement that a male — later identified as Hines — entered the store and walked straight up to the register before pulling a pistol and pointing it at her, according to the DA’s office. Hines cocked the hammer and told her to “take all the money out of the register.” Mesubed reported that she was too scared to give him the money, so he reached over the counter and took money from the register.

Hines fled from the convenience store and local law enforcement agencies were unable to locate him at the time. Over the course of his investigation Heath gathered information that linked Hines to the robbery.

Heath learned from Big 5 that a BB gun similar to the one used in the robbery was sold in July 2021 to a La Grande resident, according to the press release. During an interview with law enforcement the resident said he purchased two BB guns over the years and gave one to Hines on Aug. 19. The Enterprise Police Department sent video footage of a white car, similar to a Honda Accord, driving past the station toward Union County on the day of the robbery. Hines was known to be living in Enterprise and be associated with a white Honda Accord.

Another source who lived in the same building as Hines told Heath that Hines had asked him to tattoo his hands, according to the press release. Hines told the neighbor that he robbed a store in Island City with a gun and his hands were on video. He wanted his hands tattooed, so that they no longer matched the video. The neighbor refused and Hines then told him he robbed the store in order to get money to buy fentanyl pills.

On March 1 Hines was taken into custody in cooperation with the Enterprise Police Department on charges of first-degree robbery, menacing and second-degree theft. A few days later he posted the $5,000 security deposit on his $50,000 bail and was released from jail.

Stolen truck

While out on bail, Hines was involved in a two-vehicle crash on Highway 82 between Elgin and Imbler. He was driving a white Ford Ranger, which was reported stolen out of Wallowa County.

The driver of the other vehicle — a Chevrolet pickup — told law enforcement that they were driving eastbound when they noticed the Ford Ranger drifting into their lane. The driver attempted to veer out of the way, but the Ford truck hit the rear driver’s side of the Chevrolet pickup.

OSP reported that the Chevrolet truck came to a stop about 10 feet off the road, but the collision caused the Ford Ranger to roll. The Ford truck traveled around 75 feet into a field before coming to a stop on its tires.

Hines was transported by Life Flight from the scene. The occupants of the Chevrolet truck were uninjured.

Hines has also pleaded guilty to the unauthorized use of a vehicle, according to Oregon public records. Raschio sentenced Hines to 24 months of probation. As a condition of his probation Hines was ordered to serve 10 days in county jail. Raschio ruled to suspend Hines’ driver’s license for a year and ordered him to pay just over $9,000 to the owner of the stolen pickup truck.

The Wallowa sentence will run concurrently with his Union County sentence, according to the press release.