OREGON COAST-EARTHQUAKES
3 quakes recorded off Oregon coast, no tsunami warning
COOS BAY, Oregon (AP) — Three earthquakes with magnitudes ranging from 4.1 to 4.8 occurred several hundred miles off the Oregon coast on Sunday, but none triggered tsunami warnings.
The U.S. Geological Survey says the 4.8 quake was recorded last and occurred at about noon about 260 miles west-northwest of Coos Bay.
DEATH INVESTIGATION
Police in Gresham rule man’s death a homicide
(Information from: KATU-TV, http://www.katu.com/)
GRESHAM, Ore. (AP) — Investigators in Gresham in northwest Oregon have ruled the death of a man who appears to have been assaulted a homicide.
Police tell KATU-TV that they responded to a call at about 4:30 a.m. Sunday by a neighbor reporting she found a man who needed help.
Police say the man lost consciousness and died a short time later.
Police say they are working to identify the man and what caused his death.
Police estimate his age at about 20.
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OAK SAVANNAS
SW Oregon project aims to save dwindling oak savannas
(Information from: Mail Tribune, http://www.mailtribune.com/)
CENTRAL POINT, Ore. (AP) — A project to protect some of the last remaining stands of old-growth oak savannas is underway in southwestern Oregon.
The Mail Tribune reports that the two-year, $1.28 million project is treating 1,400 acres of public and private land in and around the Upper and Lower Table Rocks for oak habitat restoration.
The Nature Conservancy and Klamath Bird Observatory have joined with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest service and other federal agencies in the project intended to protect trees that can be more than 200 years old.
Experts say only about 10 percent of the low-elevation oak savannas that several hundred years ago stretched from northern California to British Columbia still exist.
The restoration work includes reducing the threat of high-intensity wildfires.
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PATROL CAR SIDESWIPED
Portland police arrest woman after crash with patrol vehicle
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Police in Portland say a 20-year-old woman who sideswiped a marked patrol car Sunday morning and then jumped in the backseat and claimed not to be the driver has been taken into custody.
Police say Gailla Tomie Rdiall was booked into the Multnomah County Jail and faces charges of driving under the influence of intoxicants and reckless driving.
Authorities say a precinct sergeant was driving a marked patrol vehicle westbound on Northeast Sandy Boulevard at about 12:50 a.m. when Rdiall sideswiped the vehicle and continued driving west.
Police say the precinct sergeant watched the female driver stop and then climb into the backseat. Police say Rdiall then claimed the male passenger was driving.
Police say no one was injured in the crash.
Rdiall was released on her own recognizance.
SEASIDE CHILD DEATH TRIAL
Trial begins for man charged in 2-year-old’s death
(Information from: The Daily Astorian, http://www.dailyastorian.com)
ASTORIA, Ore. (AP) — A trial is underway for a man suspected in the death of a 2-year-old girl.
The Daily Astorian reports 28-year-old Randy Lee Roden is expected to last two months and started with opening statements Oct. 4.
Defense attorneys say the child’s 26-year-old mother was responsible for Evangelina Wing’s death and that investigators treated her as a victim.
Prosecutors say Roden has a violent history and that he abused the toddler and her two brothers while he lived with the family.
Dorothy Wing pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter and two counts of first-degree criminal mistreatment.
Her 15-year prison sentence is contingent on her testifying at Roden’s trial.
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MANSLAUGHTER CONVICT-DUII
Manslaughter convict to be sentenced for drunken driving
(Information from: The Bulletin, http://www.bendbulletin.com)
BEND, Ore. (AP) — A man who served time related to a fatal car accident will be sentenced on a drunken driving charge.
The Bulletin reports David Allen Black’s license was suspended when he was pulled over and failed field sobriety tests in October 2014.
A Breathalyzer test at the police station put his blood alcohol content at .11.
The legal limit to drive in Oregon is .08.
Black declined a plea deal.
Jurors found him guilty on charges of DUII, reckless driving, giving false information to a police officer, reckless endangerment of another person and criminal driving while suspended.
Sentencing is set for Oct. 24.
Black was previously convicted of second-degree manslaughter related to a 2003 crash that killed 16-year-old Danielle O’Neil Gates and 15-year-old Stephanie Beeksma.
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SEXUAL ASSAULT-NURSE ACCUSED
Nursing assistant charged with raping elderly patients
(Information from: KATU-TV, http://www.katu.com/)
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — At least five more women have come forward to say they were sexually abused by a nursing assistant at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center.
KATU-TV reports that Adeladilew Mekonen pleaded not guilty in Washington County last month to charges he raped two elderly patients at the hospital.
He now faces 10 more charges of sexual abuse – one of them a felony, according to court records. His bail was set at $1 million.
All of the alleged acts took place in August and September of this year.
Providence is facing a $1.5 million lawsuit filed on behalf of an 87-year-old patient seeking damages for the alleged abuse.
Providence officials told KATU News they won’t comment on the pending litigation, said they are cooperating with the sheriff’s office investigation.
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EMBEZZLING-SENTENCED
Bend woman sentenced in embezzlement case
(Information from: The Bulletin, http://www.bendbulletin.com)
BEND, Ore. (AP) — A Bend woman was sentenced to four years in prison for embezzling $430,000 from her employer.
The Bend Bulletin reports that Cheryl Waldron pleaded guilty in August to stealing from Robinson and Owen Heavy Construction, of Sisters.
As part of a plea deal, Waldron was to pay $200,000 in restitution before this week’s sentencing hearing, and the state would recommend a two-year prison term.
Waldron was to sign over her property to the victim to cover the restitution, but due to liens on the property, the property was valued at around $100,000.
The state argued this was a violation of the plea agreement and Deschutes County Circuit Court Judge Bagley agreed.
Bagley sentenced Waldron to four years in prison and ordered her to pay $258,000 in restitution.
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Copyright 2016 The Associated Press.
