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.
A dvertise w ith diversity in
r tla n h © b s m r e r
call 503.288.0033 or email: ads@portlandobserver.com
April 15 is just around the corner. Are you ready?
for tax help, call the small business specialists. We con also help with:
/ A udits
/
/
/
/
/
Financial Statements
Financial and tax planning
Business and individual taxes
Estates and trusts
Budgets, forecasts, and projections
We can help with all the
financial aspects of running your
small business. Call us today!
The CPA. Never Underestimate The Value?
/ Accounting software assistance
/ Computer systems
/ Corporate formation
/O n s ite CFO sen ices
/ Financial accounting systems
/ Manufacturing systems installation and design
jffiWissbaunxSteiner & C a
«.JTZ C E R T IF IE D
P U B L IC
ACCO UNTANTS
12300 SE Mallard Way, Suite 101, Milwaukie, OR 97222
503-654-1203. fox 503-654-6165
H. & B. Too
NOW OPEN
Oregon’s Oldest Licensed Pawnshop
4709 N.E. Martin Luther King Blvd.
2 blocks south of Alberta
Weekdays til 6 p.m. - Saturdays til 4 p.m.
Free Parking - State Controlled Rates - Se Habla Español
www.hbloan.com
Oregon Family Business for over 50 years
Stop in at your earliest convenience
L