AP-OR–2nd Right Now/1134
WARNING SHOT FIRED-PRISON
Warning shot fired at eastern Oregon prison
PENDLETON, Ore. (AP) — Authorities say a warning shot was fired at the Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution to break up a series of fights in a recreation yard.
The Oregon Department of Corrections said in a news release that nearly four dozen inmates were fighting Thursday afternoon at the Pendleton prison and refused verbal directives to stop.
Staff then administered pepper spray but when inmates continued fighting, officials say a warning shot was fired into a designated safe area, which stopped the fighting.
Officials say 47 inmates involved in the altercations were placed in special housing. Officials say no injuries were reported.
The prison, which houses 1,600 men, was put on full lockdown and visiting has been canceled until further notice.
US ATTORNEY-RESIGNATION
Report details affair that led to US attorney’s downfall
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The federal prosecutor whose accusation of sexual harassment led U.S. Attorney for Oregon Amanda Marshall to resign told investigators he reported her behavior because it was interfering with his ability to eat, sleep and work.
Meanwhile, the Office of the Inspector General found evidence Marshall was asked several times to stop sending harassing messages, but continued.
The information was included in an Inspector General report obtained Thursday through a Freedom of Information Act request. Marshall apologized after a brief summary was released last month.
Marshall and the subordinate began a yearlong affair in August 2013. During the affair, the subordinate won a promotion. Marshall told investigators she delegated the decision to someone else because she was afraid she’d get sued by whichever applicant lost.
After the relationship ended, the subordinate said Marshall berated him at a concert, drove by his house multiple times and sent harassing messages.
PORTLAND POLLUTION
Portland glass company ordered to clean smokestacks
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The state has ordered a Portland glass company to clean its smokestacks over concerns that it could be the source of a cancer-causing chemical compound found in southeast Portland’s air.
The Oregonian/OregonLive reports the Department of Environmental Quality made the announcement Thursday and is requiring Bullseye Glass to conduct a thorough cleaning by Sept. 1.
The company has been at the center of pollution concerns for months, and officials suspect it’s one of two companies to blame for the hexavalent chromium.
Testing in June found the material in Bullseye’s smokestacks and Lehigh Cement Co.’s cement.
Bullseye stopped using hexavalent chromium in February, but officials say it has accumulated in the vents and could revaporize.
The state has taken measures to ensure it has stopped coming from either source.
POLICE DOGS-BODY ARMOR
Salem police dogs to get protective gear thanks to donor
(Information from: KPTV-TV, http://www.kptv.com/)
SALEM, Ore. (AP) — The Salem Police Department has received a donation that will allow all six of its K9s to be outfitted with body armor.
KPTV-TV reports that the department says Oregon City resident Linda Stout donated to the Salem Police Foundation for the purchase of the dogs’ protective gear.
Lt. Keith Blair says Stout’s gift gives officers “peace of mind knowing their partner is as well protected as they are.”
The body armor comes designed specifically for police dogs and provides maximum coverage to protect the canines’ vital organs.
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CHILD SEX ABUSE
Man pleads not guilty to federal sex charges
(Information from: KOIN-TV, http://www.koin.com/)
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A 31-year-old man has appeared in court to face allegations of aggravated sexual abuse and unlawful transportation of minors.
KOIN-TV reports that Jose Antonio Mejia’s attorney entered not guilty pleas to the charges Thursday on his client’s behalf. Mejia has been booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center, where he is under a U.S. Marshals hold.
An indictment released Thursday says the suspect engaged in a sexual act with a child under the age of 12 sometime in March. He’s also accused of transporting the alleged victim across state lines to engage in sexual activity.
Mejia is scheduled to face trial in September.
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MUSEUM FUNDING
State arts commission to stop funding Bend museum
(Information from: The Bulletin, http://www.bendbulletin.com)
BEND, Ore. (AP) — The Oregon Arts Commission has decided it will no longer offer funding from grants to a Bend museum and several other organizations.
The Bulletin reports that the commission did not renew funding for the High Desert Museum through Operating Support and Arts Learning grants, arguing that the Bend museum focuses on natural history and the environment and places its arts programming second.
Oregon Public Broadcasting and the Washington County Historical Museum received the same notification.
The grant states that recipients must have art at the core of its mission. The High Desert Museum received about $20,000 out of a $4 million total budget from the grants in fiscal year 2016.
The High Desert Museum is contesting the decision.
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NEIGHBOR KILLED-APPEAL
Oregon man’s manslaughter conviction overturned
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The Oregon Court of Appeals overturned the conviction of a Grants Pass man who was sentenced to 10 years in prison for killing a neighbor in street altercation between their homes.
Kiley Hudson contends he was being choked from behind when he stabbed the neighbor in the back. In his appeal, Hudson said the trial judge was wrong to exclude as evidence computer-generated images that would have supported the plausibility of his self-defense claim.
The Appeals Court agreed the evidence should have been admitted and returned the case back to Josephine County.
Hudson was convicted of manslaughter in early 2013 after a jury said it couldn’t agree to a verdict on a murder charge.
The night before the killing, Hudson and neighbor Gary Salomon exchanged words after children kicked a ball onto Salomon’s lawn.
CURB STOMP ATTACK
Men get prison time for curb stomp attack in Central Point
(Information from: Mail Tribune, http://www.mailtribune.com/)
MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) — Two men have been sent to prison for a “curb stomp” attack in southern Oregon that authorities believe was tied to a motorcycle gang and a drug dealer.
The Mail Tribune newspaper reports Dustin Sesock was sentenced this week to nearly six years in prison and Derek Withrow got more than two years.
The attack happened in April outside a Central Point hotel, with the victim targeted for yelling at alleged drug dealer Terri Lee “Mama T” Huffman.
Sesock admitted in court that he stomped on the man’s head while he and Withrow worked as enforcers for Huffman.
The victim suffered multiple skull fractures and severe brain damage, but prosecutor David Orr says the man was able to say the words “Mama T.”
Huffman has pleaded not guilty.
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Copyright 2016 The Associated Press.