FATAL HIT-AND-RUN
21-year-old sent to prison for fatal Portland hit-and-run
(Information from: The Oregonian/OregonLive, http://www.oregonlive.com)
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A 21-year-old man who fatally struck a pedestrian with his car in Portland and then drove away has been sentenced to one year in prison.
The Oregonian/OregonLive reports that Frederick James Ryerson Jr. was sentenced Monday after pleading no contest to hit-and-run driving and driving under the influence of intoxicants.
Ryerson had been driving his Honda Civic in September 2015 when he hit 34-year-old Christopher Brian Chandler, who later died at a hospital.
Police had tracked Ryerson down after a friend of Chandler’s spotted the Honda with noticeable damage parked on a street near the crash site.
Ryerson admitted that he hit Chandler but said at the time he hadn’t realized he struck a person.
Ryerson apologized in court Monday.
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SALEM SEWAGE RELEASE
22 million gallons of Salem sewage dumped in the Willamette
(Information from: Statesman Journal, http://www.statesmanjournal.com)
SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Heavy rains in Salem forced the city to release more than 22 million gallons of raw sewage into the Willamette River.
The Statesman Journal reports the 24-hour rainfall level passed the legal threshold of 2.61 inches Friday, overwhelming Salem’s sewer system. Oregon Department of Environmental Quality spokeswoman Katherine Benenati says the city experienced pump failures at an additional treatment facility before it chose to release the sewage into the river.
City spokesman Mike Gotterba says the release was necessary to keep sewage from backing up and flooding streets and basements.
About 640 gallons of sewage was accidentally released into Pringle Creek.
Signs posted at the creek and the Willamette River warning people to avoid the water were removed Monday after water quality testing showed normal bacterial levels.
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THREATS AGAINST PRESIDENT
Man who threatened Obama on social media denied release
(Information from: Mail Tribune, http://www.mailtribune.com/)
MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) — A federal judge has ordered a Medford man convicted of using social media to threaten President Barack Obama to remain jailed because of concerns that he’s still a threat to the public.
The Mail Tribune reports that a judge on Monday denied a request from 62-year-old John Martin Roos to be placed in a federal halfway house while he awaits his March sentencing. Roos’ attorney had sought his client’s release so he can undergo drug treatment.
Roos has been jailed since April on charges alleging he posted threats against the president on Twitter and Facebook. Authorities say they also found Roos in possession of several guns and pipe bombs when they arrested him.
Roos has pleaded guilty to threatening the president, federal law enforcement officers and possession of explosives.
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OFFICER IMPERSONATION
Police: Man impersonating cop tries to kidnap woman
VANCOUVER, Wash. (AP) — Authorities say they’re searching for a man who impersonated a police officer and handcuffed a woman he was trying to kidnap in southwestern Washington.
Vancouver police said in a news release that the woman’s friend was driving her to meet someone Sunday night when a vehicle with flashing lights approached them from behind.
Police say they stopped, believing it was a police officer, and a man wearing what appeared to be a police uniform approached the vehicle.
Police say the man pulled the woman out, handcuffed her and put her in his vehicle. Police say the victim realized it wasn’t an officer and fled on foot.
The suspect also fled. He’s described as in his 30s, about 5-foot-8 with a medium build and no facial hair.
Anyone with information is asked to call Vancouver Police at (360) 487-7399.
FATAL SHOOTING-MILWAUKIE
Police: Man arrested after killing woman, crashing car
MILWAUKIE, Ore. (AP) — Police say a woman was fatally shot south of Portland by a man who then fired at his ex-wife before fleeing and crashing his vehicle on Interstate 5 in Washington.
The Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office said deputies outside Milwaukie found 51-year-old Melissa Vargas dead with a gunshot wound to the neck Sunday night.
A woman who was also at the residence told deputies that her ex-husband, who lived there, came downstairs and shot Vargas once. The woman told police the man then shot at her multiple times as she ran to a neighbor’s house.
Deputies say 62-year-old Gregory Siegberg fled in his vehicle and a short time later crashed on Interstate 5 near Ridgefield, Washington.
Washington State Patrol deputies arrested Siegberg for driving under the influence. Deputies say he told them about the Milwaukie homicide and he’s now also being held on a murder warrant.
VENEZUELAN-DEPORTATION THREATENED
Venezuelan served sentence for drugs; now faces deportation
SALEM, Ore. (AP) — An immigration lawyer and a rights group say a Venezuelan man who is HIV positive and is in the U.S. legally was arrested in Portland in a pre-dawn raid because of a meth-possession conviction. They fear he will be deported to his home country, which is experiencing economic collapse with medication scarce, saying it would be tantamount to a death sentence.
N. David Shamloo, attorney for Luis Garcia, said Monday that instead of being locked up in a federal immigration detention center in Tacoma, Washington, Garcia could have have been allowed to return home and put on electronic monitoring pending his hearing before a federal immigration court.
Shamloo says Garcia has a job and is a legal permanent resident of the United States.
RANCHING STANDOFF-MEDIA
AP, others, want jurors’ names released in Oregon standoff
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Three media organizations, including The Associated Press, have filed a motion asking a federal judge to unseal the identities of the jurors who acquitted all seven defendants involved in the armed occupation of a national wildlife refuge in rural southeastern Oregon.
The motion filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Portland seeks to modify a protective order that was in place during the trial of brother Ammon and Ryan Bundy and five others.
The Oregonian/OregonLive and Oregon Public Broadcasting are the other media groups.
The jury acquitted all defendants on Oct. 27 of conspiring to impede federal workers from their jobs at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, 300 miles southeast of Portland.
The motion says there’s no longer a threat to jurors because the case is over.
OREGON CHRISTMAS TREES
Fewer suppliers means Oregon Christmas trees may cost more
(Information from: Statesman Journal, http://www.statesmanjournal.com)
SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Christmas trees in Oregon may cost a bit more this year as the supply of holiday firs in the state has dropped.
The Salem Statesman Journal reports that an oversupply of trees in 2015 has led some growers to leave the market, meaning there are fewer trees to go around this year, which could push prices slightly up.
According to the United States Department of Agriculture, harvest and sales of trees dropped 26 percent in 2015 compared to 2010. USDA statistician Dave Losh says growers planted an overabundance of trees compared to the demand for them.
Pacific Northwest Christmas Tree Association Executive Director Bryan Ostlund says while supplies have tightened, there is no shortage of Christmas trees in Oregon.
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Copyright 2016 The Associated Press.
