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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 21, 2018)
Wednesday, February 21, 2018 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon 5 Scammers phoned local residents from prison Scammers impersonating Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies called local residents — including some in Sisters — from a prison in Georgia. Last week, U.S. Attorney Beth Drake reported that Jay Byron Wright, 42, of the Calhoun State Prison in Morgan, Georgia, pled guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Judge Mary Geiger Lewis accepted the plea and will sentence at a later date. Evidence presented at the hearing established that Wright and other prison- ers called citizens of Oregon using a cell phone smuggled into their prison, told the Oregonians they were in con- tempt of court for not showing up for jury duty, and that they owed the court money. The Oregonians could pay this money by obtaining Money Pak Green Dot cards for the specified value and providing the numbers on the cards to the callers. The numbers gave the callers access to the value on the card. At least three people in Deschutes County fell for this scam, and they transferred val- ues slightly less than $1,000 to cards used by various co-con- spirators in South Carolina. The maximum penalty faced by Wright is impris- onment for 20 years, with a potential fine up to $250,000. The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case, along with authori- ties in South Carolina. The Sheriff’s Office wants the public to know they should never send someone money without verifying the informa- tion they are being provided first. It is not common prac- tice for the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office to advise a citizen they have a warrant over the phone. In most cases a citizen with a warrant will be contacted in person, and the Deputy will have proper credentials when serving the warrant. Sheriff Shane Nelson said, “I am so proud of Sgt. Vander Kamp and everyone else who worked on this case. These types of cases can be time- intensive and extremely dif- ficult to investigate. Scams come in many different forms, and being able to follow the leads and get this indictment is outstanding.” PHOTO PROVIDED Outlaws Cheer with their state trophy: Savannah Porsche, AriAnne Griffy, BethAnne Yount, Abbey Busick, Errin Hongel, Shelby McCaulley, Rachelle Dale, Maddie Busick; front kneeling: Roy Gannon; not pictured: Hana Schultz. Cheerleaders heading to Las Vegas Sisters High School’s Cheer Squad is heading to Las Vegas for national com- petitions at the end of the month. The Nationals berth caps a fantastic year for the squad, where they presented their routines in numerous com- petitive events. They attended the South Albany Rumble and finished fourth. They then went to the Sheldon invitational where they received a second-place trophy, beating out top- ranked Henley. After that they went to the Tualatin Last Chance where they trophied again, placing third. The strong season earned their way to state competition where they placed fourth. At the State Competition Henley placed first; Newport second; Cottage Grove third; Sisters fourth; and Sweet Home fifth. The girls earned a spot at Nationals for the first time in Sisters Cheer history. They will be heading to Nationals in Las Vegas for the com- petition, which takes place February 23 and 24. They will do two perfor- mances and hope to bring home another trophy. The squad is coached by Gabrielle Griffy.
