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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 4, 2002)
December 04, 2002 (Elje Jlartlanò ©bßeruer Page A2 P olice Hate «ri Muslims, Arabs Targets of Intimidation (A P) — H ate crim es n Oregon increased 50 percent last year, according to new statistics re leased by the FBI. The agency says anti-A rab sentim ent after the 2001 terrorist attacks contributed to the rise in such reported crim es in O regon, from 171 to 255 between 2000 and 2001. N ationally, the U nited States recorded a 21 percent increase in bias-m otivated crim es between 2000 and 2001, according to the bureau’s annual Hate Crim es Sta tistics report. A more com prehensive data collection system put in place by ¿ i. If z the Portland Police Bureau also c o n trib u te d to the sta tistic a l spike, said Susan H ardy, a state police crim e reporting specialist in Salem. H ardy said that no anti-A rab bias crim es were reported in all of 2000. But in 2001, there were 29, she said, and all o f them cam e in after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The 29 victim s — 24 men, five w om en — were targets o f intim i dation or vandalism because o f a hatred for A rabs or M uslim s, the 9/11 attack. An A nglo woman H ardy said. O ne o f the m ost serious of uttered a racist remark at two Arab O regon’s anti-A rab hate crim es men at a highw ay rest stop in in 2001 occurred five days after D ouglas C ounty. W hen one o f An Anglo woman uttered a racist remark at two Arab men at a highway rest stop in Douglas County. When one o f them stepped forward to challenge her remark, she shoved him. Got a business dispute? Want to Know the Facts Behind Energy DeReg? Independent lawyer and energy consultant providing cost effective business solutions available for com m ercial, real estate, and contract m atters and energy consultation. AF Legal & Consulting Services 503-721-0181 1425 SW 20th Street Portland, Oregon 97201 them stepped forw ard to chal- lenge her remark, she shoved him. “She told them to go hom e, because they w e re n ’t w anted here,” H ardy said. The num ber o f hate crim es re ported to Portland police in all are a s— race, religion, sexual ori entation, ethnicity and disability — increased from 33 to 108 be tw een 2000 and 2001, according to the FBI statistics. The num ber o f hate crim es based on religion alone clim bed from 2 to 14 reports in that time. G ulzar A hm ed, a founding m em ber o f the Islam ic Society of G reater Portland, said the num ber o f hate crim es a g ain st A rab- A m ericans w ould lessen if the general public learned that they, too, condem n terrorism . “They have to be show n that M uslims in general are peace-lov ing people,” he said. “They are going through difficult tim es.” Three Arrested in Drug Kingpin Tigard Heroin Sweep Pleads Guilty (A P) — N arcotics agents arrested three men and searched six hom es in Tigard, W oodburn and Portland in a drug sw eep that officials say took out a distribution ring w ith the potential to supply half the heroin addicts in the m etropolitan area. Last w eek’s arrests w ere the result of a 10-m onth investigation by the FBI and the Regional Organized Crime and N arcotics Task Force, said John Laing, assistant U.S. attorney. He said the group w as re sp o n sible for big shipm ents o f high-grade heroin in te n d e d fo r P o rtla n d area s tre e ts . A b o u t tw o -th ird s o f O re g o n ’s drug deaths last year w ere blam ed on heroin. “We hope that this w ill make a raa- jo r im pact on the availability o f this high-purity heroin,” L aing said. Three M exican nationals w ere ar rested and three others are fugitives in the case. O fficials say they are part o f a drug trafficking netw ork in w estern M exico that has ties to the T iju a n a -b a se d A rellano-Felix cartel, one o f M exico’s leading exporters o f heroin, cocaine, m arijuana and m etham phetam ine into the U nited States. A rrested on drug trafficking charges w ere E rubial P erez-D iaz, 27; A bel M endoza-E squeda, 34; and C ornelio M endoza-E squeda, 32. Being sought are G uadalupe M endoza-E squeda, 28; Juan C arlos Lopez, 25; and M arco A n tonio Diaz-V ernal, 25. (AP) — An accused drug kingpin has pleaded guilty in federal court to importing more than $ 1 million of the popular teenage drug Ecstasy to Portland. Andre Nevin Wegner, 32, was to stand trial last week, but instead pleaded guilty to seven counts of importation and distribution. He also agreed to turn over $ 1 million in drug proceeds. W egner was charged in July 2001 after agents seized 21 pounds, or 30,000 tablets, of the drug — the largest seizure o f Ecstasy in Portland to that date. In the following months, agents seized more than 100,000 tablets and arrested five men. W egner faces up to 20 years for each count but will likely serve much less under U.S. sentencing guidelines. He will be sentenced March 4, although he may be sentenced in Los Angeles where he faces another federal case involving Ecstasy importation, said his attorney, Ronald Hoevet. ( 5 0 3 ) 823-H ELP 111S.W . 2nd Avenue, Portland, Oregon 97204 Yesl It's y o u r time! You couldn't have dreamed it better if y o u d tried. You've learned th a t hard w o rk and long hours definitely pay o ff and th a t g e ttin g ahead is easier w h e n there's family behind you. 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On Sunday, Nov. 17 at 4:30 A ccording to investigators, a.m ., police responded to a G onzales had been outside a report o f “shots fired” near hom e used as “after hours the intersection o f N ortheast club,” at 7144 N.E. 22nd, where 22nd A venue and L om bard it is believed 30 to 50 people Street. U pon arrival officers Domingo Lee Gonzalez were inside. Investigators also found evidence that several shots had indeed been fired and at least one believe G o nzales’ killing may have been either gang related, or stem m ed from an person had been injured. S hortly th e re a fter, o fficers learned that earlier altercation at the address. Auto Theft Task Force Seeks Suspect T he P o rtla n d P o lic e B u reau 's A uto T heft Task Force, in cooperation with Crime Stoppers, is asking for your help in locating and ap prehending JacobGilbert Bowe. A felony no-bail arrest war rant charges Bowe with unau thorized use of a motor vehicle. The task force also wants to question him in connection with James Gilbert Bowe a number of other stolen ve hicles. Bowe is a 21 -year old white male with a date o f birth of June 11, 1981. He is 6 feet tall and w eig h s a p p ro x im a te ly 150 pounds with blond hair and blue eyes. He has “W S” tattooed on his right leg, “CRIP" tattooed on his left leg, and three dots tat tooed on his right hand. Crime Stoppers is offering a cash reward o f up to $1,000fo r information, reported to Crime Stoppers, that leads to an arrest in this case, or any unsolvedfelony crime, any you need not give your name. Call Crime Stoppers at 503-823-HELP. FBI Tackles Child Porn Undercover (AP) — The FBI in Oregon has begun an undercover operation in cyberspace to expose child pomographers and sexual predators. FBI officials will be logging into chat rooms and pretending to be children, to hook a sexual preda tor and curb an epidemic of child pornography. The start of the Innocent Images Task Force in Oregon comes after the state Supreme Court adopted new rules allowing lawyers to work in undercover investigations. The FBI estimates that one in five children receive sexual solicitations online. Insurance Agent Charged with Fraud All Your Protection Under One Roof • 4M »» American Family Mutual Insurance Company and its Subsidiaries. Madison, Wl 53783-0001 www.amfam.com I A V ancouver insurance agent has been charged with 18 counts o f theft in a fraud scheme prosecutors estimate cost the Farmers Insur ance Co. and individual victims $321,000. Police said Darel Scott M cM ahon's arrest was the result of an investigation into allega tions of securities fraud and theft while working as an insurance agent for Farmers. The company was alerted to the possibility of fraud and theft when a customer with a question about an annuity type investment of $97,900 discovered the account was never established. Authorities said Farmers responded immedi ately with a group of auditors and investigators descending on M cM ahon's Mill Plain office seizing records, documents, computers and data. I
