FROM PAGE ONE
TUESDAY, JULY 19, 2022
CHASE
Continued from Page A1
up for a spike strip deploy-
ment, and after learning of the
active shooting situation, fi red
his weapon at the suspects
and their vehicle as they came
by his location. Troopers were
able to successfully spike
the vehicle, which ultimately
came to a stop on Indian
Creek Road near Rinehart
Lane outside Elgin.
Three suspects fl ed from
the vehicle into the dense
brush and vegetation. As a
result, additional law enforce-
ment was called to the scene
and a perimeter was set up.
The Northeast Oregon
Regional SWAT Team and the
Oregon State Police SWAT
Team responded to the area
and ultimately located and
arrested two suspects in the
late evening hours.
Ashtin Romine, 26, of
Clarkston, Washington, and
Andrew Cutler/The Observer
Law enforcement offi cers stand in the background Sunday, July 17, 2022,
near crime scene tape at West First Street, Island City, where a police
pursuit began that involved gunfi re.
Jessica Spalinger, 31, of Walla
Walla, Washington, were
booked early July 18 into the
Union County Jail.
Romine was arrested for
reckless endangering and
for misdemeanor and felony
fl eeing, while Spalinger is in
jail for fi rst-degree assault, hit-
and-run with injury, recklessly
endangering and misdemeanor
fl eeing from police.
Under Oregon Measure 11,
Oregon’s mandatory minimum
sentencing law, fi rst-degree
assault carries a mandatory
minimum sentencing of seven
years and six months.
TRUCK
Continued from Page A1
just as they did when the
truck rolled off an assembly
line in 1926.
Lisa Goss, of La Grande,
also said the truck, produced
by International Motor Co., is
one of a kind.
“I go to a lot of car shows
and I’ve never seen anything
like this,” she said. “It is rare
and unique.”
It is not known how long La
Grande’s public works depart-
ment used the truck. After the
Mack Model AB truck was
retired, it was kept in storage
for many years before being
restored, according to Ray
Clements, who works for the
public works department.
Clements plays a key role in
keeping the truck in operating
condition.
Even though its hand-crank
starter is in good condition,
getting the vehicle’s engine
running can be dangerous.
TRIAL
Continued from Page A1
Opening statements
McDaniel began by
describing the night of Wil-
liams’ death. The evening
of Nov. 17, 2018, was bit-
terly cold and frost cov-
ered the ground — a point
the state will return to
throughout the trial.
McDaniel reconstructed
for the jurors the scene at
61307 Conley Road, Cove,
where Williams was shot
to death. McDaniel played
the dispatch call Wil-
liams made to 911. The
quiet courtroom fi lled with
the sounds of gunshots,
screaming and Williams
begging the dispatcher,
“Get out here please.”
Dean Gushwa, the
lawyer for the defendant,
opened his remarks by
telling members of the jury
he was going to show them
his hand. He held up his
hand so the backside was
facing the jury box, saying
they must believe they have
now seen his hand. He then
showed the jury his open
palm to illustrate his point
there are two sides to every
situation.
“Now you have seen my
hand,” he said.
He acknowledged that
in 95% of cases where a
spouse is murdered the
other spouse is responsible.
“But what about the
other 5%?” Gushwa asked.
He argued the state has
“got the wrong man.”
Dick Mason/The Observer
A 1926 Mack Model AB truck, owned by the La Grande Public Works
Department, draws the attention of people attending the Crazy Days
celebration on Saturday, July 16, 2022, on Adams Avenue, La Grande.
Clements said turning the
crank can sometimes cause the
engine to misfi re and send the
crank backward with force.
“You can break a wrist, a
thumb or an arm when this
happens,” he said.
Clements uses a special grip
to protect his right hand and
arm when starting the engine.
connection, and it was not
long before Lee moved
to the area. According to
McDaniel, Williams always
was reclusive, but became
even more so after her mar-
riage to Lee. She quit her job
because Lee did not want her
working outside of the house.
The DA described Lee as an
obsessive, controlling hus-
band who struggled to let
go of Williams and their
property.
Gushwa describes a dif-
ferent story to the jury. He
also acknowledged the mar-
riage had rough patches but
said Lee was a devoted and
loving husband who worked
to take care of Williams
despite diffi culties that arose
due to her mental health.
“He loved his wife, he
still does,” Gushwa said.
McDaniel and Gushwa
each referenced a previous
911 dispatch to the resi-
dence over an argument.
McDaniel argued that during
a domestic dispute Lee
stomped on and injured Wil-
liams’ foot, and afterward
she took out a restraining
order against Lee and fi led
for divorce. Gushwa said
the situation arose when
Lee was on a step ladder
retrieving a crockpot for
Williams and accidentally
stepped on her foot.
Witnesses take stand
The state’s fi rst witness
was Toni Grove, the 911
dispatcher who answered
Williams’ call the night of
her slaying.
Upon listening to the
recorded call, Grove said
she picked up Williams
saying she had been shot
and heard her say Lee’s
name. The DA also had
a forensic audio expert
enhance the recording to
clear up background noise
from the radio and make
the recording of the 911
call easier to hear.
Dr. Michele Stauff en-
berg, Oregon’s chief state
medical examiner who
performed the autopsy on
Williams, told the jury she
determined Williams had
been shot four times —
once in the left shoulder
and three times in the
head.
The bullet that entered
Williams’ shoulder con-
tinued into her chest cavity,
then hit her lung, fi lling
the space with 500 millili-
ters of blood, before passing
through the soft tissue and
exiting through her lower
back. There were too many
factors for Stauff enberg to
say whether the gunshot to
the torso would have been
fatal on its own. However,
she said the gunshot wounds
to the head were potentially
immediately fatal.
During cross exam-
ination from Gushwa,
Stauff enberg said if Wil-
liams was shot and then
The unidentifi ed third sus-
pect remains at large as of
1 p.m. July 18. The Union
County Sheriff ’s Offi ce, the
La Grande Police Department
and Oregon State Police con-
tinue to investigate the ini-
tial burglary as well as the
offi cer involved shooting and
more charges and arrests are
anticipated.
The La Grande Police
Department — at the request
of the Oregon State Police and
in compliance with the Union
County Deadly Force Plan
— will conduct the offi cer
involved shooting investiga-
tion. The OSP trooper involved
in the shooting was placed
on administrative leave per
department policy pending the
outcome of the investigation.
Law enforcement was
assisted on the scene by mem-
bers of the La Grande Fire
Department, Imbler Quick
Response and the Union
County Offi ce of Emergency
Management.
signifi cant physical work to
operate.
“It would be a long day
driving it at work,” he said.
The truck’s hard rubber
tires provide limited cush-
ioning, but on the plus side
they will never go fl at since
they don’t hold air.
“I can ride over all the
nails I want,” Clements said.
Neustel said he is
impressed with how well the
city’s public works depart-
ment has kept up the truck.
“It is very well maintained.
It looks virtually original,” he
said. “It is cool that the public
works department has kept it
up. It is a good showcase for
the city.”
While the truck did not
win any awards at the car
show, Carter said this is
because there was not a divi-
sion recognizing vehicles for
how close they look to how
they appeared brand-new.
“It would have won if there
was a category for most orig-
inal,” he said.
talked — which is sug-
gested from the 911 call
— that would indicate the
torso gunshot occurred
fi rst.
The state called law
enforcement offi cers who
fi rst responded to the scene
as witnesses, including
Union County sheriff ’s
deputy Justin Hernandez,
who was the primary on
the scene. Hernandez doc-
umented fi nding a new
yellow leather work glove
near the driveway. Due to
the environmental condi-
tions and the frost under
the glove, he said he
believed it had been left
there recently.
FIRE
Continued from Page A1
Although the fi re danger rating is high on
BLM ground, Crouch noted that the agency has
yet to impose restrictions on campfi res. Nor has
the Forest Service.
That’s in sharp contrast to 2021, when a dry
spring resulted in an abnormally early start to
fi re season and to its associated regulations on
public lands in Northeastern Oregon.
This year, Crouch said, “those late spring
rains put a lot of moisture in the ground and
greened things up.”
Both Crouch and Goodrich agree that the
2022 fi re season is more typical for the region,
in that the fi re danger, rather than rising to
extreme levels even before the summer sol-
stice, is beginning to rise only as July nears its
middle.
“It feels more like a typical season from the
1990s or early 2000s,” Goodrich said.
Between 1999 and 2010, about 80% of the
wildfi res on the Wallowa-Whitman started
between July 15 and Aug. 15, he said.
Although he noted that statistics haven’t
been updated for the past fi ve years, he sus-
pects there have been more fi res in the fi rst half
of July than in the past, and that the fi re season
has extended a bit later into late summer and
early fall.
Fire danger remains moderate in most of
Northeastern Oregon. The energy release com-
ponent, an estimate of how fast a fi re would
spread based on moisture levels in fuels, is
below average in each of the six geographic
zones that the Blue Mountain Interagency Dis-
patch Center monitors.
The numbers, which briefl y went above
average in late June before dropping again due
to widespread rain in early July, have been
rising again for the past several days.
Goodrich said the few lightning-sparked
fi res reported earlier in July burned sluggishly,
generally not spreading beyond the drip line
of the tree that was struck by lightning. He
expects fi res through the rest of the summer
will be more energetic.
In addition to the increasing fi re danger,
Goodrich and Crouch are tracking weather pat-
terns that bring thunderstorms to the region.
That’s a crucial factor, since lightning in
most years ignites about 80% of the fi res on
public land. (The percentage is generally lower
on private land, where human-caused fi res are
more common.)
In the meantime, Crouch said the grasses
and sagebrush that fed the Willowcreek Fire
will continue to be a source of easily burned
fuel.
“Our fuel loading in the grasses is much
higher than it was last year,” he said.
Senior Oregon State
Police Trooper Robert
Routt — who was called
to the residence to create
a scaled diagram of the
scene and location of evi-
dence — also was ques-
tioned on the stand about
the glove. Routt said
everything was frosted
over except for the glove,
which he would expect to
frost over because leather
has no special properties
that would inhibit frost
from forming on it.
McDaniel said the glove
belonged to Lee during her
opening statement — ref-
erencing a tag found in his
shop for the same type of
gloves, a receipt from Ace
Hardware for the gloves
along with video security
footage from the store of
him making the purchase
and DNA evidence from
Lee within the glove —
but this still remains to be
confi rmed by witnesses
or with the physical evi-
dence submitted for review
by the jurors without chal-
lenge from Gushwa.
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Relationship history
McDaniel told the jury
about Williams and Lee’s
relationship.
The couple met when
Williams was working at a
gas station and Lee was in
the area for hunting season.
The pair had an instant
The grip allows him to release
his hand instantly when the
crank slams backward.
A history enthusiast, Clem-
ents enjoys driving the Mack
Model AB truck occasion-
ally but said that operating
it all day would be draining
because it has a poor sus-
pension system and requires
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