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About Keizertimes. (Salem, Or.) 1979-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 2, 2015)
SINCE 1979 • VOLUME 37, NO. 44 SECTION A OCTOBER 2, 2015 $1.00 Meth dealer off hook in murder By CRAIG MURPHY Of the Keizertimes So what about the drug dealer? Last week, Brett A. Pearson and friend Robert D. Miller II were sentenced to life in pris- on for the murder of Brett’s mom Michelle and the at- tempted murder of his father, Wilfred “Bill” Pearson. The two teens will be eligible for parole after 40 years. For some neighbors, how- ever, a lingering question was left unanswered: what about the person who got the teens hooked on methamphet- amine? No one disputes the teens were on methamphetamine on the night of March 5, 2014. Both Brett and Miller acknowledged in court docu- ments they had done meth leading up to the incident, in- KEIZERTIMES/Craig Murphy Brett Pearson speaks during his sentencing in front of Judge Dale Penn on Sept. 23. Surprise! Haggen closes quietly cluding on the night in ques- tion. Both acknowledge Mi- chelle died of a single gunshot from Miller, who also fi red multiple shots at Bill. Brett then picked up the gun and shot his father twice. Bill re- covered from the shots. Shortly after the Keizertimes posted a picture on Facebook of Brett Pearson at his Sept. 23 sentencing, neighbor Nancy Baldwin made a post. “I have known him since he (was) 3 years old,” Baldwin posted. “Sad for everyone. The main culprit behind all this was never arrested. And that hurts.” When asked who the main culprit was, Baldwin’s son James posted it was “the meth dealer” who was not charged in the case. “The reason he’s not in- volved is because he turned informant,” James posted. “I hope (the Keizer Police De- partment) caught the bigger fi sh they were looking for.” In an interview Monday with the Keizertimes, Baldwin didn’t name the meth dealer but believes a deal was made. “He turned snitch and walked away,” Baldwin said. “Why (the police) didn’t fol- low up, I don’t know.” Brendan Murphy, the Mar- ion County Deputy District Attorney who tried the case, said there’s a reason the dealer was never charged. “There is no reason to think there is any other in- volvement from anybody else with criminal culpability in this case,” Murphy said. “We have no reason to believe any- one else had knowledge of what was going to happen.” Area C math fi gured out PAGE A2 Please see DEALER, Page A9 A helping hand Barbershop is all aces PAGE A6 Masaki Takisawa (center) poses with the Smedema family: Gunner, 11, Jessica, Gage, 9 and Mike. KEIZERTIMES/ Lyndon A. Zaitz KEIZERTIMES/Craig Murphy The Keizer Haggen closed last weekend; this is how the vacant store looked on Monday morning. By CRAIG MURPHY Of the Keizertimes The Keizer Haggen was here only a short time, but it was a memorable time. Not necessarily for the best of reasons, however. In the span of several months, the Washington-based grocery chain went from 18 stores to announcing plans for 146 new stores (including Keizer), opening those stores, announcing the closing of most of those stores, getting into a bitter legal battle with Albertsons and fi nally an- nouncing the chain will only keep 37 total stores. The former Albertsons at 5450 River Road North in the Keizer Creekside Shop- ping Center was converted to a Haggen in less than 48 hours in late April. In mid-August, however, the Keizer Haggen was one of 27 stores on a closure list. No fi nal date was listed, with the store slated to close within 60 days. Company offi cials didn’t respond to multiple requests from the Keizertimes for an exact date. Apparently the date was last Sunday, Sept. 27. When the Keizertimes went by the store on Sept. 24, signs indicated the store was closing in four days. When a reporter stopped by the store again on Mon- day, Sept. 28, not only was the store closed, shelves were empty and some of the shelves were gone altogether. Anthony Marin of Keiz- er was among those caught surprised by the closure. He stopped by Monday morn- ing in hopes of getting great closeout deals, only to be greeted by a locked door. Please see HAGGEN, Page A9 Harboring Doubt KEIZERTIMES/Eric A. Howald Linda Baker as Sister Aloysius and Claire Clubb as Mrs. Muller in dress rehearsals for Keizer Homegrown Theatre's Doubt , which opens Oct. 9. See the full story on Page A5. By LYNDON ZAITZ Of the Keizertimes The telephone call came out of the blue. Late one evening in Sep- tember Mike Smedema re- ceived a call from the fam- ily that had bought his house elsewhere in Keizer. The caller said they had been visited by a Japanese man with a bicy- cle looking for the Smedema family. The man was 21-year-old Masaki Takisawa. The Smede- ma family hosted him as an exchange student in 2012 as part of a program to help Japa- nese kids affected by the tsu- nami. The young man got to the Smedema’s previous house by memory. After a 2,900- mile bicycle ride. Across the United States. Alone. The reunion of Masaki (who goes by Masa) and the Smedema family was emo- tional and joyous. Masa wanted to fi nd adven- ture and challenge himself and he wanted to see the United States. He decided to start his trek in Charleston, South Car- olina and ride west. He chose to start on the east coast be- cause for more than 100 years immigrants to America landed in the east and made their way westward. Working part-time in his home town Iwate Prefec- ture on the northern end of Honshu Island, Masa raised about $5,000 for his six-week journey. He is also currently a university student studying to become a teacher. Please see MASA, Page A9 Stories We Like PAGE A10 Saluting the people that make us proud of our community capitolauto.com Man killed on Chemawa By CRAIG MURPHY Of the Keizertimes A 68-year-old pedestrian was killed while attempting to cross Chemawa Road last Fri- day, Sept. 25. Keizer resident James Al- ton was crossing Chemawa at Newberg Drive North when he was struck by an eastbound 1999 Ford Ranger pickup shortly after 7:30 a.m. Che- mawa was closed from De- light Street to Crater Street for nearly three hours as law enforcement personnel inves- tigated the incident. The 49-year-old Salem female driving the Ranger was not arrested or charged by Keizer Police Department offi cers and fully cooperated with offi cers during the inves- tigation. “An older gentleman was crossing the road and walked right in front of the pickup,” KEIZERTIMES/Craig Murphy A 68-year-old Keizer man was killed Sept. 25 when he attempted to cross Chemawa Road and was struck by the pickup seen on the left. Lt. Andrew Copeland with the KPD said from the scene. “There was nothing criminal in nature. The guy didn’t make it.” Medics from the Keizer Fire District transported Alton to Salem Hospital, where he was pronounced deceased. Assisting the KPD were personnel from the Marion County Sheriff ’s Offi ce and Oregon State Police. Accord- Lady Celts on a roll ing to Copeland, the driver of the Ranger indicated she did not see Alton as he crossed the road. Items seen on the roadway after the incident included a shoe and a partially empty bottle of pop. The incident happened about a block west of the intersection of Delight and Chemawa, which has a signal and crosswalk. Please see KILLED, Page A9 McKay upsets McNary PAGE A11