Two Arrested In Sunshine Park Robbery Investigation

Roseburg Police arrested two people Wednesday following an investigation into a reported robbery and assault at Sunshine Park earlier this month.

According to police, officers were first dispatched to Sunshine Park, located at 152 Sunshine Road, at about 5:45 a.m. on May 4 after reports of people fighting, a car horn honking and someone yelling for help. When officers arrived, no one was found at the park.

A short time later, Mercy Medical Center contacted dispatch after a man arrived at the hospital covered in blood and reported he had been assaulted at Sunshine Park. Police said the man was unable to speak at the hospital but wrote down the names “Cutty” and “Biscuit” as the people involved. Investigators later identified those individuals as Jessica Nicole Blessent, 37, of Roseburg, and Cody Leland Boots, 35, of Roseburg.

Police said the victim reported being pistol-whipped, shot with BBs and strangled with a seatbelt while trying to stop Blessent and Boots.

On May 12, officers said they developed probable cause to arrest both suspects. On May 13, Roseburg Police arrested Blessent and Boots at The Point, located at 200 SE Pine Street, without incident.

Blessent was charged with first-degree robbery, first-degree assault, unlawful use of a weapon and menacing.

Boots was charged with first-degree robbery, first-degree assault, unlawful use of a weapon, menacing and strangulation.

Both were lodged at Douglas County Corrections.

Note to readers: All defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law. The term “lodged” is the wording used by law enforcement in the police log and refers to a person being booked or held at the jail.