NIGHTCLUB SHOOTING-GUILTY
Man guilty in 2013 murder outside Portland nightclub
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A 26-year-old man has been found guilty of murder in the shooting of a man outside a Portland nightclub.
The Portland Police Bureau said in a news release that a Multnomah County jury on Thursday found Xavier Bolden guilty of murder in an incident in which Duriel Harris was killed outside the former Fontaine Bleau Nightclub. Bolden was sentenced to life in prison.
Police say officers arrived at the club Nov. 9, 2013 to find a crowd of up to 100 people involved in a disturbance and Harris suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Police say Harris died at the scene and officers learned that two other people had suffered non-life-threatening gunshot wounds.
In September 2014, Bolden was arrested in Las Vegas, Nevada and later extradited to Oregon to face prosecution.
TRIBAL MASCOTS-THE LATEST
The Latest: Oregon board approves deal on tribal mascots
BANKS, Ore. (AP) — The Oregon Board of Education has approved a contract between an Oregon school district and a tribe that allows district teams to remain the Braves.
Board officials voted unanimously Thursday for the agreement between the Banks School District and the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde.
The agreement lets the district keep the name “Braves” but it must get rid of an “Indian head” logo.
It also calls for a history curriculum developed by the Grand Ronde to be taught in district classrooms.
School districts in the state with tribal mascots must do away with them by July 1 or risk punishment that could include the withholding of state funds. However, the state will make exceptions for districts that get the approval of one of Oregon’s nine tribes.
Education board chairman Charles Martinez Jr. said the work done by the Banks district and the tribe sets the bar for seven other districts pursuing similar agreements with tribes.
XGR-TOBACCO-AGE
Oregon Senate approves raising legal tobacco age to 21
SALEM, Ore. (AP) — The state Senate has approved raising Oregon’s minimum age for tobacco use to 21.
The bill approved 19-8 on Thursday now heads to the House. If the proposal is eventually signed by Gov. Kate Brown, Oregon would be the third state to increase the legal age for buying and possessing cigarettes and other tobacco products from 18 to 21.
Hawaii was the first state to increase the age, followed by California. Dozens of cities and local jurisdictions have adopted the policy over the years, including Oregon’s Lane County.
The proposal would reduce Oregon’s tax revenue from tobacco by $1.76 million in the upcoming two-year budget, adding slightly to the state’s projected $1.6 billion budget shortfall.
The losses, however, could be covered from proposals to increase tax rates on tobacco.
SNOWBOARDER DEATH-APPEAL
Oregon court rules in favor of appeal in snowboarder’s death
(Information from: The Oregonian/OregonLive, http://www.oregonlive.com)
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The Oregon Court of Appeals has ruled that a trial to determine responsibility for a snowboarder’s death should move forward.
The Oregonian/OregonLive reports that a 2012 crash at the Mt. Hood Skibowl’s Dog Leg run killed 17-year-old Taylur DeWolf of Sandy.
A Multnomah County jury found in 2013 that Skibowl wasn’t responsible for DeWolf’s death. The appeals court ruled in favor of an appeal Wednesday because the resort didn’t disclose another serious crash in same area, even though it was required to do so before the first trial.
The appeals court ruling says witnesses for the resort claimed during the trial that there were no other serious injuries on the Dog Leg run in its 40-year history.
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TATTOO REMOVAL-STATUTORY RAPE
Convicted rapist not on hook for victim’s tattoo removal
(Information from: The Oregonian/OregonLive, http://www.oregonlive.com)
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A man convicted of illegally having sex with a teenage girl will not have to pay for his victim to get a tattoo of his name removed from her neck.
The Oregonian/OregonLive reports that the Oregon Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday that 28-year-old Jaime Alonso should not be held financially responsible for his victim’s tattoo removal because his statutory rape of the girl wasn’t connected to the tattoo.
In 2012 Alonso had sex with the girl, who was 14 or 15 at the time, when he lived in Cornelius.
The victim says she got the tattoo in 2013 because Alonso wanted her to prove she was serious about the relationship. Prosecutors say the victim wouldn’t have gotten the tattoo if not for Alonso, but defense attorneys say the rape and the ink are not connected.
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EUGENE STABBING DEATH
Man sentenced to life in prison for murder of Eugene woman
(Information from: The Register-Guard, http://www.registerguard.com)
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — A homeless man with a lengthy criminal record has been sentenced to life in prison for the murder of a Eugene woman.
The Register-Guard reports Vyacheslav (vee-EH-cheh-slahf) Stefanskiy apologized to relatives of Marissa Nevills at Wednesday’s sentencing, but could offer no explanation for why he stabbed her 22 times.
The 26-year-old Stefanskiy said he doesn’t really know why he killed her.
Lane County Assistant District Attorney Steve Morgan said Stefanskiy was apparently high on methamphetamine when he went to Nevills’ apartment to steal a television.
Nevills wouldn’t let the stranger in, and the prosecutor said that led the Stefanskiy to “freak out.”
Stefanskiy must serve at least 25 years of his life sentence before he can apply for parole.
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LEGALLY AGENDER
Judge allows Oregon resident to be genderless
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — An Oregon judge who last year ruled that a transgender person can legally change their sex to “non-binary” has given the OK for a Portland resident to be genderless.
Multnomah County Judge Amy Holmes Hehn on March 10 granted a petition allowing Patrick Abbatiello to go from male to “agender” and switch to the single name Patch.
People who are agender see themselves as neither a man nor a woman and have no gender identity.
The 27-year-old Patch writes and designs video games and had been using the name Patch since well before the decision to legally change.
Patch says: “It’s not that I decided was genderless — that’s just how it is.”
The judge told NBC in an email her decisions were supported by facts and the law.
ERICKSON BANKRUPTCY
Judge approves Portland aviation firm’s bankruptcy plan
(Information from: Mail Tribune, http://www.mailtribune.com/)
MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) — A struggling Portland aviation company is one step closer to emerging from bankruptcy.
The Mail Tribune reports that a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge in Dallas on Tuesday confirmed Erickson Inc.’s reorganization plan less than five months after the company entered court protection in November.
Erickson president and CEO Jeff Roberts said Wednesday that the company now has a clear path out of bankruptcy.
When Ericson filed for Chapter 11 in November, it listed $561 million in debt. The company went public in 2012 and acquired Evergreen Helicopters and Air Amazonia in 2013, leaving the company with $355 million in debt just as the oil and gas market began to decline.
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Copyright 2017 The Associated Press.
