Page A2
May 16, 2001
Che |JUuUauö (Obeemer
i Police News/Vancouver
Bush on Guns: Hire
More Prosecutors
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Presi­
dent Bush unveiled a new initiative to
combat gun violence Monday, pledg­
ing an “unprecedented partnership”
between federal, state and local law
enforcement agencies.
“It will send an unmistakable mes­
sage: If you use a gun illegally, you
will do hard time,” Bush said.
Bush used National Police Week
to renew his call for tougher enforce­
ment o f existing gun laws, and said
his "Project Safe Neighborhoods”
would accomplish that.
The two-year, $550 m illion effort
will help pay for the hiring o f new
federal and state prosecutors, with
U.S. attorneys in all regions o f the
country heading “strategic partner­
ships" on gun violence with area law
enforcement, said Attorney General
John Ashcroft.
The federal and local authorities
will work together to review and pre­
pare gun cases for prosecution, and
map out ways to prevent firearms
violence, he said.
The administration will measure
the impact o f the programs by gaug­
ing whether they reduced gun crimes,
Ashcroft said.
The president pledged to hire 113
new assistant U.S. attorneys and 600
new state and local prosecutors to
handle gun cases; $44 million to im­
prove criminal record-keeping so
convicts cannot legally buy guns;
nearly $29 million to expand ballistics
testing so illegal guns and ammuni­
tion can be traced; $ 19 million for the
Bureau o f Alcohol, Tobacco and Fire­
arms for a youth gun interdiction
initiative.
Bush said that between 1989 and
1999, the violent crime rate dropped
20 percent.
"That’s a huge accomplishment.
It really is,” he said, with police offic­
ers standing beside him.
“But unfortunately, American so­
ciety is still far too violent,” he said,
pointing to 12,658murdersinAmerica
in 1999, two-thirds o f which he said
were shooting deaths.
Win a m illion SkyM iles.
F ly everyw here.
Forget how to drive.
Four Killed After Collision
(AP) — Four people were killed
when a small pickup collided head-on
with a semi-truck near Portland Inter­
national Airport were all farmworkers
who lived and worked nearby, police
said.
The pickup driver passed another
vehicle in a no-passing zone and was
in the oncoming lane when collision
occurred about 9 p.m. Sunday, said
Lt. Mike Hefley, a Portland police
spokesman.
The small truck was caught under
the semi’s front axle, and both ve­
hicles erupted in flames, Hefley said.
The pickup driver was identified
Monday as Isidro Santillan Chavez,
29, an employee ofRossi Farms. His
passengers w ere A lalos M isael
Garcia, 18; Rogelio Ceja Adrian, 42;
and his son, Jose Antonio Adrian
Garcia, 18. All three lived and worked
at Garre Farms.
Police said toxicology tests would
be conducted on the driver o f the
pickup to determine if drugs or alco­
hol were involved.
The driver o f the semi-truck, A Ivin
Earl Hill, 40, o f Moses Lake, Wash.,
was in serious condition at Legacy
Emanuel Hospital.
Clinton Brother Targeted by Police
T O R R A N C E , C a lif. (A P )—
T ap e re c o rd in g s in d ic a te th a t
f o r m e r P r e s id e n t C l i n t o n ’s
b rother, R oger, w as illeg ally ta r­
geted by o fficers w ho arrested
him on charges o f drunken d riv ­
ing and d istu rb in g the peace, his
law yer told a ju d g e M onday.
C linton, 44, w as arrested Feb.
21 in H erm osa Beach. Police said
they did not know w ho he was
w h en he w as p u lle d o v e r fo r
erratic driving.
C linton w as not present M on­
day as attorney M ark G eragos
entered an innocent plea. A hear­
ing w as set for June 26.
G eragos said an audiotape he
acquired from another police d e­
partm ent show s H erm osa Beach
o ffic e rs d iscu ssin g C linton 90
m inutes before the arrest.
G eragos w ould not release the
tape to the m edia but told report-
ers it show s officers saying;
“T here he goes, do you recog­
nize him ?”
“ D oes he have Secret S ervice,
protection?” “N o, but his brother
sure does.” C linton has been free
on his ow n recognizance. I f co n ­
victed, he could face a year in ja il
and a $2,000 fine. He was a r­
rested less than a m onth after his
older brother pardoned him for a
1985 drug offense.
Crime Stoppers
Double Murder Unsolved
Portland police, in coopera­
tion with Crime Stoppers, are
asking for your help in identi­
fying and apprehending the
person or persons responsible
for a double homicide.
Just after midnight on Sun­
day, April 15, a security of­
ficer found a car in the parking
lot o f the former Eastgate The­
ater, 2025 SE 82 Ave. The car
had crashed into an em bank­
ment on the northwest com er
o f the lot, and was found with
the motor still running.
Seeing someone inside, the
security officer called 9-1-1
and police responded.
On arrival, officers found
the bodies o f two decreased
individuals, later identified as
34-year-old Ramona L. McGee,
and 44-year-old Terry Lee
Spencer, both of northeast
Portland, inside the car. It was
later determined that both sub-
jects died o f gunshot wounds.
Investigators would like to hear
from anyone who may have
information on this case.
Crime Stoppers is offering a
cash reward o f up to $1,000
for information, reported to
Crime Stoppers, which leads
to an arrest in this case o f any
involved felony crime, and you
need not give your name. Call
crime Stoppers at (503) 823-
HELP.
Washington County Deputies Under Fire
(AP) Washington County sh eriff s
deputies are under fire for training
practices at the O regon National
Guard base at Camp Rilea on the
Oregon Coast.
In a letter to W ashington County
SheriffJim Spinden, Rilea commander
Colonel David Lay criticized the safety
practices o f the county’s SW AT
team.
The Guard commander said depu­
ties failed to get permission to use
some areas o f the camp or communi­
cate with guard officials during exer­
cises. And he said deputies training
in a light armored vehicle were under
the influence o f alcohol when the
vehicle ran over a bunch o f logs.
The sh eriffs office said the driver
o f the armored vehicle hadn’t been
drinking, though the passengers may
have been.
The Guard also said sheri f f s depu­
ties left live rounds o f gas grenades
and other lethal ammo in a place where
hundreds o f high school students
gathered later on.
Accused Mother Plans to
Use Insanity Defense
Lawyers for a W ashington
County woman who has pleaded
not guilty to killing her nine-year-
old daughter have filed a notice
they plan to use insanity in her
defense.
Karen Lee Huster’s daughter
Elisabeth disappeared in 1996. The
41 -year-old Huster claimed she was
with relatives, and spent two years
in prison on charges o f custodial
interference.
A fter being indicted for her
daughter's murder, Huster fled her
Tigard home in April 2000. In N o­
vember, she was arrested in a Los
Angeles suburb after police found
a m an ’s body parts in the apart­
m ent she was sharing with a family
friend.
Huster appeared in a Hillsboro
court on Friday. H er trial was set
for Jan. 8, 2002.
The notice filed Friday also says
H uster's attorneys plan to present
evidence on w hether she intended
to com m it murder.
A defense psychiatrist will ex­
amine Huster in the next few weeks
Prosecutors also will exam ine her.
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