WOMAN PUNCHED-LAWSUIT
Judge rejects lawsuit brought by woman punched at Oregon bar
(Information from: The Oregonian/OregonLive, http://www.oregonlive.com)
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A woman who claimed she suffered a fractured eye socket after a drunken man punched her at an Oregon bar has lost her $800,000 lawsuit against the business.
The Oregonian/Oregon Live reports Talisha Blevins claimed the Cabana Club in McMinnville was partially responsible for the incident because it served the man while he was visibly drunk. She had sought about $750,000 for pain and suffering and $44,000 for medical bills.
The bar’s Portland attorney had argued that Blevins couldn’t prove her claims. He also said the bartender had no idea of knowing that Patrick Allen Reimer would go on to commit the crime.
A judge agreed to dismiss the case Wednesday after finding Reimer 100 percent responsible for Blevin’s damages.
Reimer is currently serving a prison term.
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RANCHER INDICTED-CATTLE SOLD
Neglected cattle seized from Oregon rancher auctioned off
(Information from: East Oregonian, http://www.eastoregonian.com)
PENDLETON, Ore. (AP) — More than 100 cattle found neglected and starving on a ranch in eastern Oregon earlier this year have been sold.
The East Oregonian reports officials say Tuesday’s auction at the Hermiston Livestock Commission brought in more than $140,000. A few more of the animals will be sold next week.
The animals were seized in January from owner Michael Hockensmith.
The Hermiston rancher has been charged with 14 counts of first-degree animal neglect and 186 counts of second-degree animal neglect.
Deputies had visited Hockensmith’s Cedar Creek Cattle Company and found 14 dead cattle and 15 others too malnourished to be safely moved from the pasture.
The money from Tuesday’s sale will be used to reimburse the Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office for the care of the animals. Any remaining funds will be returned to Hockensmith.
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FATAL CRASH
11-year-old boy dies in vehicle crash near Mt. Bachelor
BEND, Ore. (AP) — Authorities say an 11-year-old boy died in a vehicle crash on a road covered with snow and ice near Mt. Bachelor in Oregon.
Oregon State Police said in a news release that officers were called to the crash Thursday involving two vehicles near the entrance to the Sunrise Lodge on Highway 372.
The boy’s father was driving west when he lost control of his SUV and moved into oncoming traffic. Police say another motorist collided with the SUV and that the boy died on the way to a Bend hospital.
Police say the 39-year-old father from Eugene was seriously injured and had to be extricated from the vehicle while his 16-year-old son suffered moderate injuries.
The driver of the other vehicle, 60-year-old Stephen Richardson of Bend, had minor injuries. The names of the others involved weren’t released.
DOUBLE HOMICIDE
Man arrested in Vancouver double homicide
(Information from: The Columbian, http://www.columbian.com)
VANCOUVER, Wash. (AP) — Police say they’ve arrested a man suspected of killing two people in Vancouver, Washington earlier this month.
Vancouver police said in a news release that the US Marshals Fugitive Task Force arrested 31-year-old Arkangel Howard Thursday in Portland, Oregon with the help of Portland police.
Police say detectives interviewed Howard and then booked him into jail in Portland on two counts of murder.
The Columbian reports Howard is suspected of killing two Portland-area men: 37-year-old Allen Collins and 42-year-old Jason Benton.
Police were called to a Vancouver home March 19 on a report of shots fired. Officers found the two men dead at the scene.
Police say Howard will be extradited to Vancouver to face the charges.
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MILITARY DEATH
Airman from Oregon dies in non-combat incident in Syria
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The Defense Department says a U.S. Air Force airman from Oregon has died in a non-combat incident in Syria.
In a news release Thursday, the department said Staff Sgt. Austin Bieren of Umatilla died Tuesday in northern Syria, where he had been deployed in support of combat operations. The 25-year-old security forces airman was assigned to the 21st Space Wing at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado.
A statement from the base says Bieren died from “suspected natural causes.” Wing commander Col. Douglas Schiess says Bieren was a beloved member of the team and will be sorely missed.
Bieren graduated from Umatilla High School in 2010 and entered the Air Force that November. He had been stationed at Peterson since June 2014.
NORTHWEST IMMIGRATION ARRESTS
Immigration agents round up 84 in Alaska, Washington, Oregon
SEATTLE (AP) — Immigration authorities say agents rounded up 84 people — including 60 with criminal records — during a three-day operation in Washington, Oregon and Alaska.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement says the operation ended Monday and targeted criminals residing in the U.S. illegally. Those arrested included 77 men and seven women from 12 countries, the vast majority of them from Mexico. Nineteen had drunken driving convictions, and 14 had been convicted of assault, sex offenses or domestic violence.
Some will be prosecuted for illegally re-entering the country while the rest face deportation proceedings.
ICE says one was a previously deported Mexican man who had been charged with child rape, and who was recently released from custody by a local jurisdiction despite a detainer request by the agency. Many jurisdictions in the Northwest do not honor such requests after a federal court said it’s unconstitutional to detain people without a warrant after they would have otherwise been released.
DOJ-HASHTAG INVESTIGATION
Investigator sues over firing in #BlackLivesMatter scandal
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — An Oregon Department of Justice investigator fired after going through Twitter messages of the state’s top civil rights lawyer has filed a federal lawsuit against the agency and state Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum, contending his firing was in retaliation for his whistleblowing activity.
James Williams says in the lawsuit filed Tuesday in Eugene that he was just doing his job when he searched for social media posts that included the hashtag Black Lives Matter.
His search led to the Twitter account of Erious Johnson, the attorney in charge of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. The lawsuit says Williams was instructed to write a memo about Johnson’s activity.
Rosenblum placed Williams on leave in November 2015, saying she was shocked and appalled that Johnson had been under digital surveillance. Williams was fired nine months later.
GOVERNOR-ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMISSION
Environmental Quality Commission: 3 members suddenly fired
(Information from: The Register-Guard, http://www.registerguard.com)
SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Oregon Gov. Kate Brown has fired three of the five members of the Environmental Quality Commission, who oversee the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, without a warning.
The Eugene Register-Guard reports that Brown called Commissioners Colleen Johnson, Morgan Rider and Melinda Eden Wednesday to fire them.
The Governor’s office did not give much information regarding the reasoning behind the firings. Johnson says she and the two other former commissioners “were completely blindsided and stunned.”
Johnson was serving her second four-year term, Rider had 15 months left in her term and Eden had three months left in her. The agency, which enforces laws curbing air, ground and water pollution, has a $332 million budget and about 700 full-time staff.
Johnson says the three will be releasing public statements soon.
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Copyright 2017 The Associated Press.