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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (June 25, 2019)
146TH YEAR, NO. 241 DailyAstorian.com // TUESDAY, JUNE 25, 2019 $1.50 Life sentences for homeless couple convicted of murder Minimum of 25 years in prison By NICOLE BALES The Astorian A homeless couple convicted in the murder of a Newport man in 2016 was sentenced Friday to life in prison. Christian Wilkins and Adeena Copell were accused of killing Howard Vinge, 71, inside his RV in September 2016. They dumped his body down an embankment along U.S. Highway 30 east of Astoria and took his RV and a sedan. The couple abandoned the RV after it broke down on U.S. Highway 26 near Christian Hamlet and drove the car Wilkins to Arizona, where they were arrested. Wilkins pleaded guilty in May to murder, sec- ond-degree abuse of a corpse and two counts of unauthorized use of a vehicle. Copell was convicted of the same Adeena charges in May after a Copell trial in Clatsop County Circuit Court. They will each serve a minimum of 25 years in prison. “This is the kind of case where all of us fear for our elderly loved ones, peo- ple befriending them, taking advantage of them, isolating them, and then kill- ing them,” Judge Cindee Matyas said to Copell. “This has been a nightmare ... It’s an undeserving end for a man who was engaging with his community, obviously had a lot of family that cared for him, and tried to be kind to strangers who are in trouble — you and Mr. Wilkins — tried to help you and this is a terrible way for his kindness to be repaid.” Vinge’s family spoke during the sen- tencing hearings, sharing personal state- ments with Wilkins and Copell. Prosecutors said Wilkins shared what seemed to be a sincere apology for what he had done. Copell did not comment in court. “It’s just been a tough three years for our family,” Shannon Honey, Vinge’s niece, said afterward. Sandra Gamero-Rost, Vinge’s daugh- ter, said despite the pain her family has gone through, she is thankful for the peo- ple who cared for them during the pro- cess. She mentioned the deputy district attorneys who prosecuted the case — Beau Peterson and Scott McCracken — the detective who investigated, the jurors and the victim services coordinator. “The community has been wonderful and has just stepped up,” Gamero-Rost said. ENVIRONMENTAL, EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES ABOUND AT TONGUE POINT Doug Gorsline/Columbia Land Trust The Columbia Land Trust has raised more than $1.4 million to purchase the southern two-thirds of South Tongue Point, a historical dredge spoil deposit on the eastern edge of Astoria the group hopes to restore into salmon and wildlife habitat. A salmon and wildlife habitat for the college By EDWARD STRATTON The Astorian D Edward Stratton/The Astorian Jason Smith, left, a habitat restoration project manager with the Columbia River Estuary Study Taskforce, takes stakeholders in the restoration of South Tongue Point on a tour of the property from the Columbia River on Friday. onors and other stakeholders in the Columbia Land Trust got a view of South Tongue Point from the water Friday as the group tries to fill a funding gap to purchase the property and turn it into salmon and wildlife habitat for Clat- sop Community College. The land trust approached the col- lege about purchasing South Tongue Point four years ago. Warrenton Fiber had applied to clear and develop the land, created between the mid-1940s through the 1970s by soil dredged from nearby rivers and islands. “South Tongue Point represents another piece in the broader resto- ration picture of the entire Columbia estuary, and the educational opportu- nity makes it all the more valuable,” Glenn Lamb, executive director of the land trust, told a group of stakeholders gathered at the college. South Tongue Point sits on the western edge of the Lewis and Clark National Wildlife Refuge and near another land trust restoration project at Twilight Marsh. The land trust has pre- served more than 2,100 acres on the lower 80 miles of the Columbia River. The land trust has raised more than $1.4 million toward the purchase of the southern two-thirds of South Tongue Point and hopes to fill a final $141,000 funding gap through grants and private donations. The land would be restored under the direction of the Columbia Doug Gorsline/Columbia Land Trust Clatsop Community Action executive director resigns No reason given for departure The interior of South Tongue Point includes wetlands and timber stands. See Tongue Point, Page A6 ‘SOUTH TONGUE POINT REPRESENTS ANOTHER PIECE IN THE BROADER RESTORATION PICTURE OF THE ENTIRE COLUMBIA ESTUARY, AND THE EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY MAKES IT ALL THE MORE VALUABLE.’ Glenn Lamb | executive director of the Columbia Land Trust By KATIE FRANKOWICZ The Astorian Elaine Bruce, the executive director of Clatsop Community Action, has resigned. No reason was given publicly for her departure, which was effective Friday. Bruce declined to comment on the details behind her resig- nation. Sarah LaCoste- Brown, the president of the nonprofit’s board, said there was “no pin- pointed reason.” Clatsop Community Action is a critical social Elaine Bruce services provider on the North Coast, helping low-income people with food, housing and other basic needs. Viviana Matthews, the nonprofit’s deputy director, was appointed interim executive director. Local Coastie had rich career A cameo in ‘The Goonies’ to the White House By EDWARD STRATTON The Astorian ear the beginning of “The Goonies” is a scene of Astoria High School football players tossing around a pigskin on John Warren Field. Among those extras was Eric Bruner, whose foray into football also led him indirectly toward a 30-year career in the Coast Guard. Bruner, born in Longview, Wash- ington, moved to Astoria when he was a kindergartner. The 1985 graduate of Astoria High School said he was orig- inally interested in joining the Navy and becoming a Marine. But some N See Bruce, Page A5 Astoria High School graduate Eric Bruner, seen here with his wife, Christine, ends a 30-year Coast Guard career this month. Coast Guard officers helping coach the football team convinced him to join. Bruner went straight from high school to the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut, where he earned a bachelor’s in electrical engi- neering and the rank of ensign. His first assignment brought him back to Asto- ria as a deck watch officer aboard the buoy tender Iris. He has jumped back and forth across the coun- try five times between office and field assignments. “I’ve sailed from the Ber- ing Sea to the Gulf of Tehu- antepec off Guatemala, and crossed the international date line on the West Coast,” Bruner said. “I’ve sailed from Halifax, Nova Scotia, to and throughout the entire Caribbean Sea.” See Bruner, Page A5
