SINCE 1979 • VOLUME 38, NO. 3
SECTION A
DECEMBER 18, 2015
$1.00
Getting a new perspective
By CRAIG MURPHY
Of the Keizertimes
Eric Peterson certainly had
preconceived notions in his
mind and fi gured they would
be proven right.
A few days after 22-year-
old Brandon Crist of Keizer
– the nephew of Peterson’s
longtime signifi cant other
– died of a heroin overdose
in late September, Peterson
heard some of Crist’s friends
would be gathering at a park
in Salem to remember him.
“My intention was to go
there and hang in the back-
ground, scope people out,
embed myself, prove my pre-
conceived notions,” Peterson
said. “What actually happened
was one of the most moving
experiences of my life.”
As Peterson approached
the park, he found a group of
Crist’s friends. He also saw po-
lice lights, since neighbors had
complained about noise and
a sheriff ’s deputy was waiting
for more people to enter the
scene.
Peterson approached the
deputy, explained what was
going on and asked for the
police lights to be turned off.
“I asked the deputy if I
could diffuse the gathering,
make sure nobody was drink-
ing and driving and get them
out of there without him get-
ting involved,” Peterson said.
“He approved and turned off
his lights as a group of kids
started shuffl ing out of the
woods. The deputy backed up
his patrol car to the other side
of the parking lot while I ap-
proached the kids.”
With law enforcement
backing off, Peterson ap-
proached the group.
“I tried to corral them and
let them know that the cop
wasn’t there for them, but
that I was there for them,” Pe-
terson said. “I wanted to see
Brandon’s friends celebrating
his life, I wanted to see what
they looked like, I wanted to
see if they had tears in their
eyes or just an excuse to party.
Some of them scattered but
most stayed, asking me how
the family was doing, what
the police are doing, are they
allowed at the funeral, etc.
We talked for a couple min-
utes and at one point they all
mobbed me with hugs, one
right after another like after a
football game pile on. It was
very surreal.
“I assumed
every single
person in
his life was a
junkie and ev-
ery minute of
his day was
spent chasing
that fi x.”
— Eric Peterson
“I made sure they were
cool to drive, told them to
keep talking about Bran-
don on social media because
it means a lot to the family
and that’s how they will fi nd
out about his memorial,” he
added. “Another larger group
came out of the woods shortly
thereafter and the whole sce-
nario was repeated with the
mass hug and all.”
In a matter of moments,
Peterson found his stereotypes
shattered.
“My preconceived notion
is that these are a bunch of kids
that look like they are never
going to make it if they don’t
play the game, the same advice
I gave Brandon many times,”
Peterson said. “I think that af-
ter meeting them and seeing
their hearts instead of their
messed up hair and piercings
and tattoos that I am the one
who is never going to make it
unless I play the game. I’ve be-
come more tolerant to people
and life in general in just the
short time since his death and
I attribute it to that night.
“These weren’t the friends
Brandon was doing heroin
with,” he added. “I assumed
every single person in his
life was a junkie and every
minute of his day was spent
chasing that fi x. I’ve come to
learn that his friends loved
him more than anything. He
helped out people constantly
with the most menial things
like changing tires for people
in need and picking stuff up
at the store for friends and
countless stories of him being
a shoulder to cry on when life
was kicking them down. I’ve
learned that he was a talented
artist, a beautiful writer and
practiced a Polynesian form of
fi re art and dance that blows
my mind away. I never got to
know that side of him, never
even knew it existed.”
Unfortunately, Peterson did
know the drug side existed. It
was an all too familiar story
for Peterson. His immediate
family members have been
decimated by drug addictions,
though Crist was the fi rst to
die of a drug overdose.
Please see DARK, Page A9
Parade lights up the night
c hasing Dark
Palma Ciea
Park update
PAGE A2
Chasing Dark is an ongoing series looking at heroin
abuse in Keizer. For past stories, please visit
keizertimes.com/category/chasing-dark/
Keizerite arrested
for rape charges
By CRAIG MURPHY
Of the Keizertimes
A Keizer man was arrested
earlier this month in connec-
tion with raping three people
in the last 15 years, two of
whom were minors at the
time.
Keizer Police Department
detectives arrested Nikolay
Avdeyev, 52, a Keizer resident
on the 1300 block of Angie
Way NE, on Dec. 3.
An indictment hearing for
Dec. 18 has been pushed back
to Wednesday, Dec. 23 at 8:30
a.m.
Court papers show more
than 20 charges fi led against
Avdeyev. Jeff Kuhns, deputy
police chief with the KPD,
said Avdeyev was not a strang-
er to his victims.
There are two court dock-
ets concerning Avdeyev. One
has a single charge, rape in the
fi rst degree. According to the
court papers, the sexual inter-
course took place on or be-
tween Sept. 1, 2009 and Dec.
31, 2009.
The other court docket
lists 19 charges, 18 of which
are concerning one victim.
That docket lists three counts
of rape in the fi rst degree, fi ve
counts of rape in the second
degree, 11 counts of sex abuse
and a sexual penetration with
a foreign object charge.
Both vic-
tims in the
second docket
are listed as
children under
the age of 14.
The multiple
acts on the
N. Avdeyev fi rst victim are
listed as taking
place between Jan. 1, 1999 and
Dec. 31, 2002. The timeline
on the second victim is listed
as taking place between Jan. 1,
2000 and Dec. 31, 2001.
Court papers list Avdeyev
as being a public safety risk, a
danger to victims and a fl ight
risk. His total bail is listed as
$2 million, according to the
Marion County Correctional
Facility roster.
Kuhns said two detectives
worked what he referred to
as a “rather involved sex abuse
investigation.”
Patrick Lamb
concert
PAGE A6
Breakfast
with Santa
PAGE A8
3 bomb threats
at Keizer schools
KEIZERTIMES/Eric A. Howald (top) and Craig Murphy (bottom)
Per usual, the Cherriots bus (top) and Viesko Quality Concrete truck (above) were well
decorated for last Saturday's annual Festival of Lights Holiday Parade down River Road
in Keizer.
This year marked a milestone as it was the 25th anniversary of the nighttime December
parade. As such, the theme for this year's parade was Silver Bells. Several entries,
including the Cherriots bus, emphasized the theme.
Despite plenty of rain leading up to the parade, once the show began the weather was
dry and stayed that way for the duration of the parade, which was shorter than usual.
There were 37 entries, with several commenting afterwards the $500 entry fee for
businesses to enter the parade may have contributed to keeping the numbers down.
For more photos, please see pages A14-15. Additional photos can be found on the
Keizertimes Facebook page.
By CRAIG MURPHY
Of the Keizertimes
Two bomb threats at two
Keizer schools in two days was
unusual enough.
That makes three such
threats in four school days all
the more unusual.
McNary High School par-
ents received an automated
phone message last Thursday,
Dec. 10 about a threat found
at the school that day.
School was open as usual
Dec. 11, but with extra se-
curity. Attendance was lower
than usual.
Jeff Kuhns, deputy chief of
the Keizer Police Department,
said the threat was being in-
vestigated.
“We treat any and all threats
made against a school as a very
serious matter and investigate
each accordingly as a crimi-
nal matter,” Kuhns said. “The
Salem-Keizer School District
and the Keizer Police Depart-
ment are working together on
this matter.”
On the afternoon of Dec.
11, a new threat was discov-
ered at Claggett Creek Middle
School. Jay Remy, Commu-
nications director for SKSD,
confi rmed CCMS parents
were notifi ed via phone about
the incident.
“Due to a bathroom graf-
fi ti bomb threat, the kids at
Claggett Creek Middle School
were taken right across the
street to Weddle Elementary
School,” Remy said. “They
were there for about 40 min-
utes. We ask parents to remind
students that making threats
can result in criminal charges
and school consequences.”
Students were supervised
inside Weddle until the nor-
mal release time, with buses
picking up CCMS students at
Weddle. The release time for
Weddle students was not im-
pacted.
McNary was the target of
another threat, with this one
being found on Tuesday, Dec.
15. Jay Crystal, assistant princi-
pal at MHS, sent out a phone
message to parents.
“On Tuesday, a graf-
fi ti bomb threat message was
found on a bathroom wall in
Please see THREAT, Page A13
Grapplers
take 3 of 5
PAGE A10