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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.
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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
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Tickets $20/30/40
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Box Office 503-325-5922 x55
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