Date: 03/12/2013 03:59 AM
OR–1st NewsMinute/369
Here is the latest Oregon news from The Associated Press
ST. HELENS, Ore. (AP) – A Washington man charged with killing the Rainier, Ore., police chief in 2011 has been transferred from jail to the Oregon state mental hospital in Salem. Columbia County, Ore., Sheriff Jeff Dickerson tells the Daily News of Longview that Daniel Butts was moved yesterday. On Feb. 27, a circuit court judge found the 23-year-old Kalama, Wash., man mentally impaired and unable to assist in his defense. Butts is charged with aggravated murder in the killing of Chief Ralph Painter.
ST. HELENS, Ore. (AP) – Police in the Oregon community of St. Helens say a young Washington woman and a juvenile discharged chemical spray in a grocery store last week, prompting the evacuation of about 100 people. Authorities say 31 shoppers reported having trouble breathing last Wednesday and one man was taken to a hospital after the incident at a Safeway. St. Helens Police Chief Steven Salle says 18-year-old Elisha Nichols of Rainier, Wash., and the juvenile were arrested yesterday.
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – A southwest Missouri man is going to prison for slightly more than eight years for robbing a half-dozen banks in three states, including Iowa and Oregon. The U.S. Attorney’s office says 49-year-old Kenneth Dewain Parker, of Rockaway Beach, must also pay about $22,000 in restitution under the sentence he received Monday. Parker pleaded guilty to the holdups last year. The out-of-state cases had been transferred to Missouri. Parker’s robberies began July 30, 2010, in Eugene, Ore., and ended about six weeks later in Missouri. In between, he robbed banks in Salem and Portland, Ore.; Iowa and Missouri.
SALEM, Ore. (AP) – The Oregon Senate has unanimously passed a bill that would require courts to consider a veteran’s military background during criminal sentencing hearings. The bill now moves to the House. It would allow a judge to give a lesser sentence or choose to put the service member in a treatment program rather than prison. Proponents say the measure could help identify veterans who need treatment for combat-related mental illnesses such as post-traumatic stress disorder. They say service members would not get a “free pass,” especially for violent crimes.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.
