Paddle the Lewis
and Clark way
FRIDAY EXTRA • 1C
143rd YEAR, No. 18
Property
Lines
WEEKEND
EDITION
INSIDE
FRIDAY, JULY 24, 2015
ONE DOLLAR
Church
and state
Warrenton city
commissioners mull
whether to fund
church food pantry
By ERICK BENGEL
The Daily Astorian
Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian
Craig Yamasaki draws the simulated Taser while participating in the MILO use -of -force training simulator May 15.
USE OF
See PANTRY, Page 8A
FORCE
Plea deal
reached on
sex abuse
allegations
Citi]en Police
Academy opens
dialogue with
video simulation
Tampering, bribery
involved in case
By KYLE SPURR
The Daily Astorian
By KYLE SPURR
The Daily Astorian
G
iven the national attention surrounding
police use of force, the Astoria Police
Department decided to focus a portion
of it s Citi]en Police Academy on the sensitive
topic.
The police invited community members to
meet once a week to experience the day-to-day
operations of the department. )or the ¿ rst time
since the academy started in 2001, the do]en
participants had the chance to go through a use -
of -force simulation and have a conversation with
Chief Brad Johnston on use -of -force issues.
Such outreach is a priority for the depart-
ment, which recently hosted a “Coffee with a
Cop” event and is actively engaged on social
media.
As a result, Johnston said, he does not see
the same mistrust with police as other cities
around the country. Still, he wanted to have a
dialogue with the students during their ¿ nal ses-
sion Wednesday.
“It seems appropriate,” Johnston said. “The
police and community can become the most out
of tune because of differences in the way we
see the world. It’s a good thing to spend a good
amount of time there.”
Astoria City Councilor Drew Her]ig, who
WARRENTON — When the
Warrenton City Commission ap-
proved the city’s budget for this
¿ scal year , the group unwittingly ap-
proved a line item that devotes city
funds to three religiously af¿ liated
organi]ations, possibly violating the
Oregon Constitution.
At its July 28 meeting, the com-
mission will discuss whether to let
stand one of the would-be expendi-
tures: $5,000 for the Warrenton Food
Bank Pantry — which is operated by
the Calvary Assembly of God — to
be spent on utilities and other reim-
bursements. If the spending doesn’t
pass legal muster, the commission
may explore indirect ways of giving
the grant to the pantry. Or it may de-
cide to spend the money elsewhere.
ABOVE: Police Chief Brad
Johnston speaks with the
class about an officer-in-
volved shooting that took
place Feb. 12, 2012, in Astoria.
LEFT: Richard Wolf responds
to a simulated drunken per-
son in public call using the
MILO use -of -force training
simulator May 15.
participated in the academy, said he found the
entire ¿ ve-week program to be a valuable ex-
perience. The academy’s students learned about
criminal investigations, the functions of pa-
trol, basic defensive tactics, and shot various
¿ rearms and toured the police department and
county jail. The amount of training each of¿ -
cer has to go through to stay sharp on duty was
eye-opening, Her]ig said.
“They are the ¿ rst responders to most of our
social problems, whether it’s mental health or
drug or alcohol abuse,” Her]ig said. “They are
it.”
Use -of -force simulation
Last week, the police department brought an
interactive video use-of-force simulator, known
as MILO Range . The simulator uses a large vid-
eo screen to recreate real-life scenarios meant to
teach of¿ cers when to shoot.
Of¿ cer Andrew Randall went ¿ rst to show the
class how it worked. His scenario was a call to a
parking lot for a suspicious male subject. In the
simulation, Randall approached the vehicle and
found a man in the driver’s seat ¿ dgeting with
See SIMULATION, Page 8A
An Astoria man accused of mul-
tiple sex abuse charges against a girl
under 14 accepted a plea agreement
Thursday, canceling a trial next month.
Michel Thomas Mitchell, 45, en-
tered an Alford plea to ¿ rst-degree
attempted sex abuse, tampering with
a witness and bribing a witness.
An Alford plea is a guilty plea
from a defendant who proclaims
their innocence, but admits the
prosecution has enough evidence to
prove they are guilty.
Judge Cindee Matyas sentenced
Mitchell to ¿ ve years probation and
90 days in jail, 60 of which can be
completed alternatively. If Mitchell
violates his probation, he will face 70
months, or nearly six years, in prison.
The attempted sexual abuse oc-
curred between 2007 and 2012, ac-
cording to court documents, and the
charges of tampering with and brib-
ing a witness occurred last August .
Had the case gone to trial, Dep-
uty District Attorney Dawn Bu]]ard
said, the state would have presented
evidence strong enough to possibly
convict Mitchell.
See PLEA DEAL, Page 8A
Rebuffed Riverwalk Inn suitor prepared to sue
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
Ganesh Sonpatki, the Port-
land hotelier with Param Hotel
Group interested in operating
the Port of Astoria’s Astoria
Riverwalk Inn, is ready to sue
to enforce the contract he said
he signed with former operator
Brad Smithart.
The Port announced Tues-
day Smithart’s lease had been
terminated last week, and that
local entrepreneur Kruparao
Kancharla and his family
would operate the hotel. But the
Port has yet to sign a lease with
the Kancharlas.
“Mr. Sonpatki long ago en-
tered into a contract to take over
operation of the Riverwalk Inn
from Mr. Smithart and his com-
pany, Hospitality Masters,” said
a statement released Thursday
by Sonpatki’s attorney Colin
Hunter. “That contract remains
in effect today, and Mr. Sonpat-
ki intends to enforce it by litiga-
tion, if necessary.
“Indeed, on the basis of the
contract with Hospitality Mas-
ters, Mr. Sonpatki had already
begun negotiating a new lease
with the Port. In short, Mr. Son-
patki intends to enforce his val-
id, pre-existing contract for the
hotel.”
Sonpatki ¿ rst approached
the Port in October, saying he
was interested in operating the
Riverwalk Inn as a budget ho-
tel. He owns several budget ho-
tels in Portland and another in
McMinnville.
On June 3, the Port Com-
mission voted to allow staff to
assign Smithart’s remaining
lease to Sonpatki, contingent
on him paying off Smithart’s
debts. Smithart had fallen be-
hind by more than $250,000 in
payments to the Port, around
$100,000 to the city and about
$16,000 to the county.
Port Executive Director Jim
Knight said Tuesday Kanchar-
la paid off Smithart’s debts to
the county, while making a
$25,000 down payment on his
debts to the city and giving the
Port a check for $55,000, which
the Port has waited to cash until
the relationship is ¿ nali]ed.
At the meeting Tuesday,
Knight said he has encouraged
the Kancharlas to speak with
Sonpatki. The conversation just
got more urgent.
Edward Stratton/The Daily Astorian
A lawyer for Ganesh Sonpatki, left, released a statement
Thursday saying he is willing to sue to protect a contract
he said he has with former Astoria Riverwalk Inn operator
Brad Smithart, second from right.