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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 28, 2016)
NORTHWEST East Oregonian Page 2A Wednesday, December 28, 2016 Trooper in Cop guilty in wife’s death serving time at women’s prison second surgery female. Lynne Irene Benton, his birth name, is listed as his alias. When Benton was held in Multnomah County jail pending trial, he was housed with male inmates. Only one of Benton’s three trial attorneys responded to requests for comment. Laurie Bender said she didn’t know about his prison designation but noted she also hadn’t been in contact with Benton since he was sentenced. Bender said she didn’t know what to make of Benton’s place- ment because she didn’t know what factors were considered. “But I do know that legally, he is a man,” Bender said. Six inmates assigned housing at Coffee Creek are transgender, said Betty Bernt, a state department of corrections spokeswoman. It is not clear if Benton is considered in that tally and it is not clear how many have transitioned from female to male. Bernt said she wasn’t aware All male and female inmates initially go to Coffee Creek for their intake into the state prison system. Male inmates remain there until they are assigned to another prison facility for housing. Coffee Creek is the state’s only prison for women. After Benton arrived at Coffee Creek for his intake process, Reynolds said, Benton’s placement would likely have been decided by the Oregon Department of Correc- tions’ nonconforming gender review committee. The committee includes officials from health services and other areas who assess an inmate’s vulnerability, security classification, mental health, medical needs and “program- ming needs,” Reynolds said. They then make recommen- dations on where inmates are placed. The state corrections depart- ment’s online inmate database identifies the former cop as Lynn Edward Benton and By EVERTON BAILEY The Oregonian/OregonLive PORTLAND — A former Gladstone cop sentenced to life in prison without parole in the death of his wife has been permanently assigned to the state’s prison for women — despite identifying as a man, with legal recognition, for the past six years. Lynn Edward Benton is housed in a general population mental health unit at the Coffee Creek Correctional Institution, said Vicki Reynolds, a prison spokeswoman. The unit is for inmates with a mental illness who need treatment or inmates who need “easier access to a behavioral health counselor.” Reynolds told The Orego- nian/OregonLive that she wasn’t aware of what factors led to Benton, 54, being assigned to Coffee Creek and said she didn’t believe she could disclose any detailed information citing potential privacy violations. after shooting; still critical of Benton’s case and also said she didn’t believe she could disclose what went into the prison’s placement decision. She cited the agency’s public information that lists Benton as a woman. Benton, who was a police officer in Gladstone for more than two decades, underwent female-to-male gender reas- signment, legally changed his name and married his wife in 2010. A Clackamas County jury found Benton guilty in October of aggravated murder, criminal conspiracy to commit aggra- vated murder and attempted murder in the death of Debbie Higbee Benton. The beauty salon owner was found shot, beaten and strangled in a storage room in her shop in May 2011. Gladstone’s police depart- ment fired Benton in December 2011 after an internal investi- gation concluded he violated policy by having pornography on his work laptop. PORTLAND (AP) — An Oregon State Police trooper wounded in a Christmas night gun battle was able to high-five his wife when he woke up from his first surgery, but he has more operations to go and a long road ahead to recover from his life-threat- ening injuries, authorities said Tuesday. Trooper Nic Cederberg, 32, remained in critical condition at Oregon Health Sciences University, where he was undergoing a second surgery after the shootout that followed the discovery of a dead woman, OSP Capt. Bill Fugate told a Cederberg news conference. “We believe his intervention and risking his life in an unfolding situation on Christmas undoubtedly saved lives of members of the public and other police officers,” Fugate said. The captain declined to say how many times Cederberg was shot or to more precisely describe his injuries, citing the family’s wishes. He did say the officer has been unable to speak since the shooting but had nonverbally communicated to his family: “I just did my job.” The department is optimistic about his recovery, Fugate said. Police initially responded to a report of a shooting late Sunday in King City, where they found a woman’s body — that of Kate Armand, according to her family. Police say a 30-year-old suspect, identified as Armand’s husband, James Tylka, was seen driving away, and officers pursued him. The chase ended with a shootout about 20 miles south of Portland. Tylka was killed. “He wasn’t the only hero on Christmas night,” Fugate said. “The other troopers who rushed to his aid are also heroes. They absolutely risked their lives to end the incident and assist Trooper Ceder- berg.” Fugate declined to release more information about the shootout, which is the subject of an inves- tigation. Some details have emerged about Tylka’s prob- lems at home. He was in a protracted dispute with his former wife, Sabrina Starks, over custody of their son and child support payments, according to court records. Starks wrote that they agreed to joint custody in May but he had been acting irrationally, impulsively and aggressively, constantly pressuring the boy for updates about what she was doing. Court records indicate that Tylka and Armand had a baby girl. BRIEFLY Herd of 41 elk die after falling through ice RICHLAND (AP) — Officials say an elk herd has died after the animals fell through the ice at a reservoir in east Oregon. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife said in a Facebook post that 41 elk died Tuesday on the Powder River arm of Brownlee Reservoir. The Baker City Herald reports someone who lives near the reservoir called to report the incident. Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Biologist Brian Ratliff told the newspaper the elk were trying to cross the reservoir from the north side when the ice broke in four places. Officials drove to the area to see if it was possible to save any of the elk or salvage meat, but Ratliff said neither option was possible. The reservoir is about 40 miles east of Baker City. Three dead, others injured in multi-car crash WARM SPRINGS (AP) — Three people have died in a multi-vehicle crash on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation. Oregon State Police Lt. Cari Boyd says a car traveling west on U.S. Highway 26 struck the back of another vehicle, sending it into the eastbound lane, where it collided with a van. Two people in the vehicle pushed into the van’s path died at the scene Monday: 37-year-old Adam Clausen and 39-year-old Shannon O’Leary, both of Portland. A 4-year-old child in that vehicle survived with minor injuries. The van driver heading east also died at the scene. Boyd identified him as 34-year-old Robert Burke of Reno, Nevada. His two passengers, one of whom is a 22-month-old child, were taken to a Bend hospital for treatment of injuries not considered life-threatening. Officer violated rules before doughnut shop crash BEND (AP) — An Oregon State Police investigation has found that a police corporal in central Oregon violated depart- ment policy by illegally running a red light before striking a truck, a pedestrian and a doughnut shop earlier this year. The Bulletin reports that Bend Police Chief Jim Porter says the state police investigation shows Cpl. Robert Emerson violated both department policy and state law, but that the crash was one mistake in an otherwise exemplary career. Emerson was cited after the March 5 crash and paid a $260 fine. Oregon State Police say Emerson collided with a pickup truck, slid across an intersection, hit a pedestrian and smashed into the Dough Nut. No shop employees or customers were injured. Both Emerson and the pedestrian were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Autopsy conducted on driver killed by Bend police BEND (AP) — An autopsy has been conducted on the man who was shot and killed by Bend police during a traffic stop last week. Deschutes County District Attorney John Hummel has yet to provide information on the results. He said interviews with witnesses are continuing, and more details will likely be released next week. Police have said the 31-year-old man, Michael Jacques, was resisting arrest when the shooting occurred Friday night. A witness provided a brief cell phone video to KTVZ. The video taken from a distance at night doesn’t clarify what happened, but a faint pop can be heard, followed by four or five loud gunshots as the minivan lurches forward. Police have yet to say if Jacques was armed or what led to the use of deadly force. Didn’t receive your paper? Call 1-800-522-0255 before noon Tuesday through Friday or before 10 a.m. Saturday for same-day redelivery 211 S.E. Byers Ave., Pendleton 541-276-2211 333 E. Main St., Hermiston 541-567-6211 Office hours: Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed major holidays SUBSCRIPTION RATES Local home delivery Savings off cover price EZPay $14.50 41 percent 52 weeks $173.67 41 percent 26 weeks $91.86 38 percent 13 weeks $47.77 36 percent *EZ Pay = one-year rate with a monthly credit or debit card/check charge www.eastoregonian.com To subscribe, call 1-800-522-0255 or go online to www.eastoregonian.com and click on ‘Subscribe’ East Oregonian (USPS 164-980) is published daily except Sunday, Monday and Dec. 25, by the EO Media Group, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801. Periodicals postage paid at Pendleton, OR. Postmaster: send address changes to East Oregonian, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801. Single copy price: $1 Tuesday through Friday, $1.50 Saturday Copyright © 2016, EO Media Group REGIONAL CITIES Forecast TODAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY A bit of snow in the morning Times of clouds and sun Cloudy 40° 28° 40° 30° Mostly sunny and chilly Mostly cloudy with a little snow PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 37° 23° 38° 28° 33° 21° HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 37° 30° 41° 26° PENDLETON through 3 p.m. yesterday TEMPERATURE HIGH LOW 44° 39° 63° (1980) 31° 25° 6° (1924) PRECIPITATION 24 hours ending 3 p.m. Month to date Normal month to date Year to date Last year to date Normal year to date 0.02" 2.12" 1.39" 13.42" 10.07" 12.90" HERMISTON through 3 p.m. yesterday TEMPERATURE HIGH Yesterday Normals Records LOW 45° 39° 63° (1955) 33° 27° 6° (1983) PRECIPITATION 24 hours ending 3 p.m. Month to date Normal month to date Year to date Last year to date Normal year to date Trace 1.23" 1.28" 9.13" 7.16" 9.78" SUN AND MOON Sunrise today Sunset tonight Moonrise today Moonset today New First Dec 28 Jan 5 Full Jan 12 39° 29° 36° 24° Seattle 45/38 ALMANAC Yesterday Normals Records 41° 24° 7:35 a.m. 4:19 p.m. 6:46 a.m. 4:20 p.m. Last Jan 19 Today SUNDAY Spokane Wenatchee 31/21 32/23 Tacoma Moses 45/34 Lake Pullman Aberdeen Olympia Yakima 36/24 31/23 45/39 43/35 38/21 Longview Kennewick Walla Walla 43/37 39/28 Lewiston 42/27 Astoria 36/24 47/40 Portland Enterprise Hermiston 46/33 Pendleton 28/15 The Dalles 41/26 40/28 40/26 La Grande Salem 32/23 46/31 Albany Corvallis 45/31 45/32 John Day 35/23 Ontario Eugene Bend 24/9 45/31 36/22 Caldwell Burns 26/11 27/4 Astoria Baker City Bend Brookings Burns Enterprise Eugene Heppner Hermiston John Day Klamath Falls La Grande Meacham Medford Newport North Bend Ontario Pasco Pendleton Portland Redmond Salem Spokane Ukiah Vancouver Walla Walla Yakima Hi 47 21 36 51 27 28 45 37 41 35 33 32 31 44 47 52 24 43 40 46 37 46 31 32 44 39 38 Lo 40 8 22 37 4 15 31 26 26 23 16 23 22 29 37 36 9 23 28 33 17 31 21 20 34 28 21 W c pc pc c pc sn c pc pc c c c pc pc c pc c pc pc c pc c c c c pc pc Hi 49 20 39 53 25 30 45 38 37 38 38 32 32 47 49 52 19 39 40 46 41 44 33 36 44 38 35 Today Beijing Hong Kong Jerusalem London Mexico City Moscow Paris Rome Seoul Sydney Tokyo Lo 12 55 40 34 47 24 28 36 21 73 39 W s c pc s s c pc s s pc s Lo 40 6 22 39 2 21 32 28 30 23 18 23 23 29 39 37 8 25 30 36 19 35 27 22 36 30 21 W r c pc s pc c pc c c pc s c c s pc pc c c c r pc c c c r c c Lo 12 58 42 35 49 19 27 32 16 75 40 W s c pc pc s c pc s s pc pc WINDS Medford 44/29 (in mph) Klamath Falls 33/16 Boardman Pendleton REGIONAL FORECAST Coastal Oregon: Times of clouds and sun today. A passing shower across the north tonight. Eastern and Central Oregon: Mostly cloudy today; cold in the upper Treasure Valley. Colder in the south tonight. Western Washington: Mostly cloudy today; patchy morning fog across the south. A little rain tonight. Eastern Washington: Mostly cloudy today. Today Thursday SW 4-8 SSW 6-12 SW 3-6 SSE 6-12 UV INDEX TODAY Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows. 0 1 1 1 0 0 8 a.m. 10 a.m. Noon 2 p.m. 4 p.m. 6 p.m. Cascades: Mostly cloudy today; a couple of morning snow showers across the north. Northern California: Clouds and sun today. Mostly clear tonight. Plenty of sunshine tomorrow. COMMERCIAL PRINTING Production Manager: Mike Jensen 541-215-0824 • mjensen@eastoregonian.com Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day. Thu. Hi 35 64 52 47 73 25 43 53 31 94 55 NEWS • To submit news tips and press releases: • call 541-966-0818 • fax 541-276-8314 • email news@eastoregonian.com • To submit community events, calendar items and Your EO News: email community@eastoregonian.com or call Tammy Malgesini at 541-564-4539 or Renee Struthers in at 541-966-0818. • To submit engagements, weddings and anniversaries: email rstruthers@eastoregonian.com or visit www.eastoregonian. com/community/announcements • To submit a Letter to the Editor: mail to Managing Editor Daniel Wattenburger, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801 or email editor@eastoregonian.com. • To submit sports or outdoors information or tips: 541-966-0838 • sports@eastoregonian.com NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY Thu. WORLD CITIES Hi 37 62 51 45 73 30 46 57 33 87 48 Classified & Legal Advertising 1-800-962-2819 or 541-278-2678 classifieds@eastoregonian.com or legals@eastoregonian.com Advertising Director: Marissa Williams 541-278-2669 • addirector@eastoregonian.com Advertising Services: Laura Jensen 541-966-0806 • ljensen@eastoregonian.com Multimedia Consultants: • Terri Briggs 541-278-2678 • tbriggs@eastoregonian.com • Elizabeth Freemantle 541-278-2683 • efreemantle@eastoregonian.com • Jeanne Jewett 541-564-4531 • jjewett@eastoregonian.com • Chris McClellan 541-966-0827 • cmcclellan@eastoregonian.com • Stephanie Newsom 541-278-2687 • snewsom@eastoregonian.com • Dayle Stinson 541-278-2670 • dstinson@eastoregonian.com • Audra Workman 541-564-4538 • aworkman@eastoregonian.com Subscriber services: For home delivery, vacation stops or delivery concerns: 1-800-522-0255 — Founded Oct. 16, 1875 — Corrections The East Oregonian works hard to be accurate and sincerely regrets any errors. If you notice a mistake in the paper, please call 541-966-0818. 0-2, Low 3-5, Moderate 6-7, High; 8-10, Very High; 11+, Extreme The higher the AccuWeather.com UV Index™ num- ber, the greater the need for eye and skin protection. Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2016 -10s -0s showers t-storms 0s 10s rain 20s flurries 30s 40s snow ice 50s 60s cold front 70s 80s 90s 100s warm front stationary front 110s high low National Summary: Snow showers will occur over the northern tier of the Northeast, the Upper Midwest and interior Northwest today. Rain showers will dampen areas from Florida to Arkansas and coastal Texas. Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states) High 89° in McAllen, Texas Low -20° in Gunnison, Colo. NATIONAL CITIES Today Albuquerque Atlanta Atlantic City Baltimore Billings Birmingham Boise Boston Charleston, SC Charleston, WV Chicago Cleveland Dallas Denver Detroit El Paso Fairbanks Fargo Honolulu Houston Indianapolis Jacksonville Kansas City Las Vegas Little Rock Los Angeles Hi 51 66 46 45 34 65 28 42 70 48 42 39 77 44 37 65 3 32 80 79 46 77 48 55 56 76 Lo 30 58 32 30 16 52 12 29 54 38 29 34 46 21 32 40 -14 24 70 64 31 58 31 41 39 52 W pc c s s c c pc s c s pc c c pc pc pc c sf s c s c s s r s Thur. Hi 48 59 48 45 31 55 26 41 72 45 35 37 58 44 37 52 9 28 79 66 37 76 44 58 55 76 Lo 29 33 35 31 24 33 8 33 38 30 25 28 37 29 26 38 3 16 68 45 25 37 23 43 30 56 W pc r r r pc pc pc sn sh sn c sf pc s sf c sn sn c pc pc sh s s pc pc Today Louisville Memphis Miami Milwaukee Minneapolis Nashville New Orleans New York City Oklahoma City Omaha Philadelphia Phoenix Portland, ME Providence Raleigh Rapid City Reno Sacramento St. Louis Salt Lake City San Diego San Francisco Seattle Tucson Washington, DC Wichita Hi 52 62 83 40 33 59 76 43 60 46 44 69 38 42 60 33 47 57 53 32 71 58 45 73 48 56 Lo 37 41 66 29 26 40 63 33 33 29 31 50 19 26 40 16 24 33 34 18 51 43 38 50 36 27 W s r pc pc pc r c s pc pc pc pc pc s s pc pc s pc c s s c pc s s Thur. Hi 43 53 83 35 31 51 65 44 51 41 44 74 35 41 61 29 47 58 44 31 73 60 46 74 47 48 Lo 29 33 61 22 20 32 42 34 29 21 32 56 30 31 33 9 24 35 28 20 55 45 37 53 34 23 Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow flurries, sn-snow, i-ice. W pc pc pc sf sf pc c r pc s r pc sn r r s s s s s pc s r c r s