Wade

PENDLETON — A dispute over a “delayed” delivery from Domino’s Pizza boiled over into accusations that a Pendleton man brandished a firearm at a delivery driver, leading to his arrest Monday.

The Pendleton Police Department arrested Beau Alan Wade, 42, on Monday on multiple probable cause charges stemming from the incident, including robbery.

“It’s likely he committed some criminal act,” Pendleton Police Chief Stuart Roberts said Tuesday. “The reality of which is still to be decided after additional investigation and review of the evidence.”

Roberts said the original call to service came from employees at Pendleton Domino’s Pizza at approximately 5:45 p.m. Sunday with reports that Wade had become verbally aggressive over the phone, grabbed the arm of the delivery driver, and then brandished a firearm at them.

Pendleton police were unable to locate Wade on Sunday but made contact with him at his residence on Monday afternoon.

According to Roberts, Wade “emphatically denied” having flashed a weapon at the driver and denied even possessing a firearm, stating that it was a black cellphone that he retrieved from, and then returned to his pocket during the incident.

Officers didn’t find a firearm or something resembling one on Wade’s person or in his apartment after he consented to a search, Robert said. In his discussion with the officers, Wade also accused the Pendleton Domino’s Pizza of theft by purposefully charging his credit card multiple times.

But Roberts said ultimately there was enough probable cause from the allegations to arrest Wade and lodge him at the Umatilla County Jail in Pendleton.

“It becomes kind of a he said, she said situation, which are always difficult because of the burden of proof,” Roberts said. “It’s just an unfortunate situation of an unaware delivery driver arriving at the scene of an aggravated customer that spun out of control. The catalyst of which was the perceived delay of the delivery. But fortunately there was nobody who was seriously hurt.”

Wade was no longer listed on the Umatilla County Jail roster as of Tuesday afternoon and no charges have officially been filed by the Umatilla County District Attorney’s Office.