Gavel On Desk In Front Of Judge Working On Laptop

MADRAS — A 27-year-old man already serving prison time for burglary is now facing charges of murder in the unrelated death of a man in Jefferson County in 2020.

Freddy Eugene Alvarado has been accused of first- and- second-degree murder in the death of Willyum Jay Hoptowit, according to a March 14 grand jury indictment filed in the Jefferson County Circuit Court. He also faces a charge of unauthorized use of a vehicle.

Alvarado was formally arrested March 14 in the Snake River Correctional Institution, Ontario, where he is serving a 45-month sentence for committing first-degree burglary in Madras in 2020. His earliest release date is Oct. 16, according to the Oregon Department of Corrections website.

Court records list Alvarado’s address on Adams Avenue in Metolius.

The indictment provides few details about the alleged murder other than that authorities believe it occurred around Oct. 3, 2020, in Jefferson County.

Alvarado “did unlawfully and intentionally” kill Hoptowit “in the course of or as a result of intentional torture,” according to allegations listed in the indictment.

Alvarado is also accused of stealing Hoptowit’s Mitsubishi Eclipse.

Jefferson County District Attorney Steve Leriche and Jefferson County Sheriff Jason Pollock would not provide further details about the case Tuesday.

The Warm Springs Police Department posted on its Facebook page on Oct. 5, 2020, that Hoptowit was missing. The post said he had been missing from Warm Springs since Sept. 21. It said he was 33, Native American, 5-feet-6-inches tall with long black hair, brown eyes and a tattoo on his hand that says “REZ LIFE.” It also says he was deaf in one ear.

Alvarado has a criminal history. Since 2013, he has been convicted of a slew of drug and gun crimes in Crook and Jefferson counties, according to court records. He has been convicted of at least five misdemeanors and four felonies, including felony coercion and the unauthorized use of a motor vehicle.

A probable cause affidavit filed by Madras Police Department officer Ryan Kathrein in the Oct. 16, 2020, burglary case states Alvarado, while hanging around a “known drug house” on Buff Street, was accused of trespassing. He left when police asked him to leave, and he returned shortly after police left, the affidavit states.

The homeowner later told Madras Police Detective Brent Schulke that Alvarado kicked in his front door while wielding a two-by-four board. He called people inside the home “snitches” while swinging the board around, causing damage and putting holes in the walls. The homeowner said Alvarado went into a woman’s bedroom. She told Schulke that Alvarado pushed her and she fell onto a coffee table.

While police arrested Alvarado at the home and began taking him to jail, he complained about a leg injury and eventually started yelling. The situation escalated to the point of Alvarado kicking, lunging and screaming. At one point, the affidavit states, he threatened to kill Kathrein and his family.

In the jail, Cpl. Tony Hansen reportedly found a glass pipe in Alvarado’s back pocket, the affidavit states. Alvarado denied that it was his. Police believed the white residue on the pipe was methamphetamine.

All charges except first-degree burglary were dismissed in this case, including unlawful use of a weapon, attempt to commit a Class C felony, fourth-degree assault, criminal mischief, resisting arrest, disorderly conflict and theft.