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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (April 3, 2002)
Page A2 C u b e rru rr April 03, 2002 P olice / V ancouver Con Man Captured for Arizona Investment Scam (A P )— V eraon Leroy Smith, who pleaded guilty to bank fraud and other crim es and fled before he could be sentenced, has been captured in C alifornia. A s s is ta n t U .S . A tto rn e y Lance Caldwell said the plea bar gain the P ortland m an agreed to in late 2000 is now off the table, although his guilty plea remains. Sm ith could now serve as m uch as seven years in prison. Sm ith had agreed to serve several years in prison and pay back nearly half a million dollars h e 'd stolen from tw o banks and investors. He paid back $100,000, but did not show up for a July 6 sentencing hearing. Sm ith w as captured M arch 12 in Lake Elsinore, Calif., where he had been staying under an assum ed nam e. A ccording to court papers, Sm ith ran an investm ent scam in A rizona in w hich he allegedly persuaded investors to deposit from $250,000to several million dollars into bank accounts, tell ing them it w ould be used for collateral on high-yield, short term trading ventures. Sm ith allegedly told inves tors their m oney w ould never leave the bank, but it w as w ired o f fs h o r e , “ n e v e r to b e r e turned,” an affidavit states. Life Sentence for Eastgate Murders ( A P) — A 23-year-old P ort land m an w ill sp en d th e rest o f his life in prison for killing tw o p eo p le in the E a stg a te T h e ater p ark in g lo t o ff S o u th ea st 8 2 nd A v en u e la st year. M a tth e w J u s tic e P ro p s t w as se n ten c ed last w ee k to life in priso n w ith o u t p aro le. H e e sc a p e d a d eath p en alty by p le a d in g g u ilty . P ro p st k illed 4 4 -y e a r-o ld T erry L ee S p en ce r an d 34- y e a r - o ld L is a M c G e e by sh o o tin g b oth in th e b ack o f th e h ead . H e also w as accu sed o f ro b bing M cG ee o f se v eral fake R olex w atches. M atthew Propst A n o th e r m an , 3 9 -y ea r-o ld R ak im M alik D u p riest, faces m u rd er an d ro b b ery ch arg es in th e sam e crim e. P o lic e say his c a r w as u sed to d riv e P ro p st to th e th e ate r. Police Kill Man in Parking Lot Standoff (A P ) — C lac k am a s C o u n ty S h e r if f ’ s d e p u tie s s h o t an d k illed a P o rtla n d m an th ey said w as su ic id a l an d w av in g a gun in a restau ran t p ark in g lot T h u rs day. K enneth E. G erd e, 4 7 , g ot out o f his c a r and ad v a n c e d to w ard d e p u tie s w h en at le ast tw o o f th e m fire d , sa id C la c k a m a s C o u n ty S h e riff’s D ep u ty A n g ela B lan ch ard . A u th o ritie s rec eiv e d a call at 4 :3 6 p.m . from G e rd e 's b ro th er, say in g he w as su icid al. Six to eig h t d ep u ties arriv ed at the scen e an d trie d talk in g w ith G erd e, w ho w as reclin ed in th e d riv e r’s seat o f his S aturn car. D eputies said he had a h an d g u n on h is lap , an d his fam ily h ad w arn ed he had ac cess to sev eral firearm s. G erd e g o t in an d o u t o f the c a r as d ep u ties trie d to n e g o ti ate w ith him , B lan ch ard said. “H e w as ag itated , and they co u ld tell he w as ex tre m ely in to x ic ated , and n ot listen in g to th e ir co m m an d s,” she said. “He ad v a n ce d on the o ffic ers. A c a nine w as d ep lo y ed on him , and at least tw o d ep u ties fired on him , strik in g h im .” Paint Recycled for Non-Profits Latex paint collected at Clark County’s household hazardous waste collection facilities has been processed into recycled paint and is available for non-profit groups and public agen cies. Sold in 5-gallon pails, the paint is thick and rich with pigment, provides excellent surface coverage and dries to a durable, low-sheen finish. It can be used both inside and outside. The public can also purchase the recycled paint for $25 per 5-gallon pail (off-white) or $22 per 5-gallon pail (all other colors) at Metro South, 2001 Washington St. in Oregon City. For information on buying the free recycled latex paint or for information on hazardous waste collections in the Vancou ver area, includ ing disposal options for businesses, call 360- 397-6118 ext. 4016. Liquor Sales Up in Oregon New products, women and high-end customers boost demand (A P) - Liquor has alw ays been called a recession-proof industry, and last year proved it. Sales totaled $249.9 m illion in 2001, a 6.5 percent increase over 2000, according to recent figures released by the O regon Liquor C ontrol Com mission. T he trend has continued into this year, w ith sales totaling $ 18.2 m illion in January, a 3.7 percent ju m p from the previous January. D istilled spirits are sold in 237 stores in O regon. Statew ide, the only m onth in w hich sales dipped last year was September and OLCC officials say that was surely be cause o f the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11. / “People w ere not getting out at all; they w ere w atching TV and hunkering,” said Ken Palke, an O L C C spokesm an. “W e see in creases in sales for celebrations, not sorrow ful events.” T he O L C C says liquor sales increased in spite o f the reces sion, not because o f it. Palke said higher prices, m ore liquor stores and the state’s in creasing population all co n trib uted to increased sales. But the biggest factor, Palke said, appears to be the in d u stry ’s efforts to m arket new products, such as fla vored vodkas and rum s, to w om en and high-end custom ers. T he fact that dollar sales are clim bing faster than case sales points to the reality that many shoppers are upgrading to higher- quality brands. “From an industry perspective, there ’ s a lot more diversity o f prod uct and apparently consum ers are responding to that,” said John Stubenvol, anotherO LC C spokes man. T h a t’s no surprise to M ike C how n, agent at the W illam ette Plaza liquor store in south E u gene, w hich had sales o f $2.8 m il lion last year, a 6.3 percent gain over 2000. “ I think the econom y has actu ally been O K , w ith the recession slow er com ing to O regon than other places,” he said. "T here are a lot o f people o ut there w ho are still doing real w ell.” Pawn Shop Owner Arrested On March 26, Detectives Scott Smith from the Property Crimes Unit assisted by Detectives from the V ancou ver Police Department Burglary Task Force, arrested the ow ner o f Family Loan, located at 606 M ain St. A rrested w as R u ssell Jay D ealy, w ho was the subject o f a Search W arrant served by police detectives, w as charged w ith four counts o f U nlaw ful Possession o f a Firearm and one count o f T raf ficking in Stolen Property. T he investigation is continuing. A nyone w ith inform ation re garding the handling or p o sses sion o f firearm s by D ealy or the transfer o f stolen property to Fam ily Loan is asked to contact Lead D etective Scott Sm ith at 360-696-8027 or D etective Ser geant Lou Braafladt at 360-696- 8226. F o r f u rth e r in fo rm a tio n , p le a s e c a ll D e p u ty C h ie f Thiessen at 360-696-8165. 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