LANDLORD ATTACKS RENTER
Man accused of attempting to restrain his renter for rape
(Information from: The Register-Guard, http://www.registerguard.com)
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Police say a Eugene man has been arrested for trying to rape his female renter using a homemade restraint system in his basement.
The Register-Guard reports 61-year-old Charles Salamone was arrested after the alleged February attack that was interrupted when the renter’s adult daughter knocked on the door.
Police said in a search warrant affidavit made public last week the 49-year-old renter told them the restraint system was made from dog collars and cables.
The affidavit says police found a mattress on the basement floor and cables and collars in a locked garage, outbuildings and Salamone’s pickup truck.
Salamone has also been indicted on charges of sexual abuse, attempted rape and coercion, in addition to the domestic violence charge filed in February.
Court records show Salamone posted $12,500 bail March 29.
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TAXI DRIVER-DUI
Eugene taxi driver arrested in suspected DUI crash
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — A Eugene taxi driver has been arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence after authorities say he was driving erratically and crashed head-on into a parked vehicle.
Fred Brittan Zeiger was booked into the Lane County jail on Monday.
Police had received numerous reports that a taxi was swerving on various roadways before the driver struck a median and crashed into a parked vehicle.
Officers were eventually able to stop the taxi and arrest the suspect, who had not been carrying a passenger at the time.
Police Lt. Jennifer Bills says Zeiger’s blood alcohol level had been more than three times the legal limit.
PRINCIPAL SUED
2 former students sue former principal, allege sex abuse
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Two young women are suing their former elementary school principal in a Portland court over allegations he sexually abused them over a period of years.
The lawsuit filed Monday in Multnomah County Circuit Court names Jeff Hays, former principal of Deep Creek Elementary School in Damascus, as a defendant.
Hays now works as the executive director of City View Charter School in Hillsboro.
He did not immediately return an e-mail or phone message from The Associated Press seeking comment.
The lawsuit alleges he sexually abused two students between 2005 and 2009 while he was principal at Deep Creek.
Sgt. Brian Jensen says the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Department completed a criminal investigation into the allegations in January.
Prosecutors have not yet announced whether they will charge Hays with a crime.
CHILD PORN-ARRAIGNMENT
Oregon sex offender charged with child pornography
(Information from: The Oregonian/OregonLive, http://www.oregonlive.com)
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A registered sex offender in Oregon has made his first appearance in federal court after being accused of enticing girls from multiple states to engage in sexual activity online.
The Oregonian/OregonLive reports Larry Lewis Hudson of Sandy was arraigned Monday on several charges, including child pornography and attempted online enticement of a minor.
The FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force says Hudson contacted minors in Louisiana and Illinois and undercover officers posing as minors in Texas and Arizona. He is accused of engaging in sexually explicit conversation and sending nude photos.
Hudson was previously convicted in Clackamas County of attempted sexual penetration with a foreign object stemming from the sexual abuse of a 5-year-old girl.
He was represented by Attorney Mark Ahlemeyer on Monday and deferred arguing for release.
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GOVERNORS-MARIJUANA
Governors from 4 marijuana states ask to be left alone
DENVER (AP) — Governors from the first four states to legalize recreational marijuana are asking the Trump administration to let the pot experiments continue.
The governors of Alaska, Colorado, Oregon and Washington say that marijuana legalization has expanded their economies.
The governors also say in Monday’s letter that legal weed can be regulated to protect public safety and that legalization reduces “inequitable incarceration,” or people of color being disproportionately jailed for pot crimes.
The letter was addressed to Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin. The governors say they opposed legalization at first, but warn that a federal pot crackdown now “would divert existing marijuana product into the black market.”
The governors also ask for the Treasury Department not to change instructions to banks for handling marijuana money.
HOTEL ROOM CANCELLATIONS-ECLIPSE
9 Oregon hotels accused of false advertising, marketing
(Information from: The Oregonian/OregonLive, http://www.oregonlive.com)
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Officials are investigating nine Oregon hotels who travelers claim cancelled their room reservations and inflated prices ahead of a summer solar eclipse.
The Oregonian/OregonLive reports more than a dozen people filled complaints against nine hotels to the Oregon Department of Justice.
Consumers said on TripAdvisor they had made advanced reservations at the Stafford Inn in Prineville, east of Portland, for about $170. The reservations were later cancelled because of new ownership or rebranding claims. The rooms’ price was updated to $600 to $635.
Stafford Inn manager Laurie Romine says the very same thing is going on all over the place.
Department spokeswoman Ellen Klem says hotels are allowed to charge any price, but should not be deceptive in their advertising or marketing.
Klem says the hotels could face a $25,000 fine.
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RESCUED DUCKLINGS
Oregon State Police help rescue 2 ducklings from storm drain
SALEM, Ore. (AP) — To protect and serve and … rescue ducklings?
The Oregon State Police said Monday on its official Twitter and Facebook accounts that one of its troopers helped pluck two ducklings from a storm drain where they were stranded over the weekend.
Witnesses say a mother duck and her 10 ducklings were crossing the street when two of the babies were swept into the drain.
City workers removed several storm grates and a manhole cover so the trooper could reach the ducklings with a net.
The other eight ducklings successfully navigated the drain pipe and emerged in a nearby canal.
They were reunited with their mother and siblings and waddled away — apparently unharmed.
OREGON CRIME LAB
Future of OSP crime lab in Pendleton under debate
(Information from: East Oregonian, http://www.eastoregonian.com)
PENDLETON, Ore. (AP) — Plans to find a new home for the Oregon State Police crime lab in Pendleton are gaining momentum, but there are disagreements about what that will mean.
The East Oregonian reported Monday that some elected officials in eastern Oregon want to see it move to Blue Mountain Community College from its current home in downtown Pendleton.
Gov. Kate Brown has proposed closing the lab and moving its staff to forensic facilities in Bend, Portland or Central Point.
A gnat infestation has severely affected operations at the Pendleton location despite many efforts to eradicate the tiny bugs.
OSP says keeping the lab running as-is would cost $1 million over the next two years.
But law enforcement, elected officials and prosecutors in the rural northeastern part of the state are opposed.
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Copyright 2017 The Associated Press.
