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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (April 16, 2019)
A3 THE DAILY ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2019 Drunken driver who killed Astoria grad gets 135 years to life Biddle and his son died in crash By NATE GARTRELL East Bay Times MARTINEZ, Calif. — After an overwhelmingly sad court hearing in which family members memorial- ized two men and two boys who were killed in a 2017 drunken driving crash, a judge gave the driver a sen- tence that virtually guaran- tees he will die in prison. Fred Lowe, 49, was sen- tenced to 135 years to life Friday for the murders of Daryl Horn, 50; his 14-year- old son, Joe Horn; Daryl’s brother-in-law, Troy Biddle, 52; and Troy’s son, Baden Biddle, 13. Troy Biddle was a Seat- tle attorney who graduated from Astoria High School in 1983. Lowe had no connection to the victims; he simply swerved his car into theirs, causing it to fl ip over a cen- ter divider and wreck, after he allegedly consumed 13 alcoholic drinks. The lone survivor of the SUV was the driver, Dar- yl’s son, Jared Horn, a well- known college baseball player at University of Cal- ifornia , Berkeley. Lowe was convicted of murder, driving under the infl uence and hit and run in March, after a jury trial. “This sentence has to stand for something,” said Amanda Horn, who lost four members of her family in the crash. She is Troy’s widow, Baden’s mother, Daryl’s sis- ter and Joe’s aunt. She added that the judge should “send a message” to all Californians about the consequences of drinking and driving. Lowe’s attorney had asked for a sentence of 15 years to life, saying Lowe had a history of alcoholism from a young age and men- tal illness. The prosecution asked for 125 years to life, saying Lowe needed to be kept “off the streets forever.” “If he’s going to be an alcoholic, just go do that,” Deputy District Attorney Derek Butts said. “The prob- lem is the driving.” Lowe’s case was the source of outrage all over the Pacifi c North- west; around 1,500 people attended memorials for the victims in Washington state and Oregon — where Daryl and Troy are from — as well as the Bay Area. Lowe, a Sacramento res- ident, had multiple prior driving under the infl uence convictions and seven fel- ony convictions, and had his license suspended numerous times. Three family members of the victims spoke before sentencing, including Daryl and Troy’s widows, but doz- ens of loved ones packed the courtroom. They read a poem by Baden’s sis- ter, recounted memories of happy times and tried to get Lowe to acknowledge them, but he stared straight ahead. Denise Horn — who is Daryl’s widow, Joe’s mother, Troy’s sister-in-law and Baden’s aunt — said she could still close her eyes and have vivid memories of her son, like staring into his eyes or the fi rst time she ever held him. She said she would for- ever keep him in her mind. “That’s where he lives now; he’ll always be there,” Denise said. Daryl, she said, “was the one person on this world that was made for me, and I was made for him.” She said the constant pain “will only end when I end.” Suspect in deputy’s death is the brother of a cop killer By ALEX BRUELL The Daily News LONGVIEW, Wash. — Authorities have identi- fi ed the man who died in an offi cer-involved shooting Sunday night as Brian Dee Butts, of Longview. Butts, 33, is believed to have shot and killed Dep- uty Justin DeRosier Sat- urday night along Fallert Road in Kalama. Butts is the brother of Daniel Armaugh Butts, who recently was handed a life sentence with a min- imum of nearly 49 years in Oregon prison for the fatal shooting of Rainier Police Chief Ralph Painter in Jan- uary 2011. If further investiga- tion confi rms that Brian Butts killed DeRosier, it will mean the two brothers will have been responsible for the only on-duty police killings in the local area in more than 70 years. Brian Butts has a lengthy criminal history. In other developments in the DeRosier shoot- Alex Bruell/The Daily News Flowers left outside the Hall of Justice. ing, Cowlitz County Supe- rior Court Judge Michael Evans on Monday found probable cause to hold Matthew Veatch, 25, who is suspected of aiding Butts in his escape from law enforcement after the shooting. Veatch and his brother, Michael Thomas Veatch, 33, both of Kalama, were arrested by Longview police on Sunday after being interviewed by inves- tigators: Matthew Veatch on suspicion of fi rst-degree rendering of criminal assis- tance, and Michael Veatch for an outstanding warrant. WANTED Alder and Maple Saw Logs & Standing Timber Northwest Hardwoods • Longview, WA Baden and Troy Biddle Amanda Horn recounted meeting Troy in law school, and how they both knew on some level they would even- tually be married. Troy was “a constant problem solver,” and “the one constant in my life,” and a great father. Baden, she said, aspired to get a scholarship for college and eventually represent the United States in the Olym- pics. She said his mottos were: “Do something. No excuses. Ownership.” Nearly everyone in the courtroom, including the judge, shed tears as she spoke. The crash occurred on Interstate 80 in San Pablo, as the Biddle and Horn fam- ilies were driving back from an annual basketball tourna- ment. Troy’s last text to his wife was: “It was awesome. Baden will want to come down every year now.” About 20 minutes later, the crash happened. Before she fi nished speaking, Denise asked Lowe to look at him, but he ignored her. She continued with her statement. “I do not wish you death, I do not wish you any pain,” she said. “I’m sure you would take that night back if you could. ... But you should be in prison for life. I think you know that.” Lowe briefl y bowed his head and wiped his eyes as Denise said those words. Todd Biddle, Troy’s brother, talked about a fam- ily road trip to watch a college football game in Eugene, and how Baden eagerly talked about all his Saturday picks on the way up. He read some- thing his brother had writ- ten about grief, that scars are tougher than the tissue they are replacing, but that they always remain. “Forgiveness does not make the cut in this situa- tion,” he said. “I vote, no more chances.” Sung Ae Choi, Lowe’s attorney, said that her cli- ent’s actions were “miti- gated” by the fact that he had been a lifelong alcoholic and suffers from mental ill- ness. She said he encoun- tered serious hardships throughout his life, but did not describe them. “I think it is unfair to say my client has not contrib- uted to society and to his family,” she said. Judge John Kennedy said he was imposing the harsh sentence because there were four victims, and the defen- dant had numerous chances to stop endangering other drivers. He said the defen- dant had displayed no remorse, had violated parole seven times and racked up a total of 15 misdemeanor and felony convictions over the years, including assault, rob- bery and fi ve driving under the infl uence ones. “The DMV suspended his license 11 times. .... That did nothing to stop him from driving. He didn’t even attempt to reinstate his license; he just kept driv- ing,” Kennedy said. Lowe declined to make a statement before he was sentenced. Butane hash oil lawsuit dismissed By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian A lawsuit brought by Richard Delphia — the owner of the building in Uniontown that went up in an explosion and fi re in 2016 — against his former tenants has been dismissed. The confl agration started in the basement, where Jason Oei and William West had been renting space to grow marijuana and manufacture hash oil concentrate. They subleased a space upstairs to marijuana store Sweet Relief and were fi nanced by John Harper, owner of regional smoke shops and an investor in Sweet Relief. Jacob Magley, a con- struction contractor badly burned in the blast, sued Oei, West, Delphia, Harper and Sweet Relief. He claimed Oei and West had been “dabbing” and caused the blaze. The lawsuit was later settled for an undis- closed amount. Delphia and Hudson Specialty Insurance Co. fi led suit last year against Oei, West and their com- panies, claiming they had violated their lease through negligence. The lawsuit also named Sweet Relief, Harper and his companies for their knowledge of the operation. The reasons for the dis- missal of Delphia’s lawsuit were not disclosed. Oei and West, who had both fi led for bankruptcy protection, had already been removed from the law- suit, along with their com- panies and Harper’s com- panies. Lawyers for Sweet Relief blamed Delphia for not installing proper safety equipment. The dismissal of Del- phia’s lawsuit brings to a close the legal battles around the explosion . David Shifrin Headliner Friday April 26, 7pm Tickets $20/30/40 Contact: John Anderson • 360-269-2500 Box Office 503-325-5922 x55 www.libertyastoria.org Mother/Daughter LOOK-A-LIKE CONTES T Th ink that YO U and you r MOM look a lot a like? Upload the pho to that mos features befo t captures re April 21. Voting starts your shared May 5. The April 24 th top vote ge rough tting photo our special s will be fea Mothers Da tured in y Weekend Look for th Edition on e entry form May 11. online at D ailyAstoria n.com The Classical Series Deborah Mayer With Cary Lewis Saturday May 4th, 7pm Tickets $20/30/40 Box Office 503-325-5922 x55 libertyastoria.org
