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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (April 16, 2003)
Page A2 (Elje ^Jortlanò ©bseruer April 16. 2003 P olice Teen Shot on Killingsworth A teenager was seriously in jured last week when he was shot in the torso as he sat in a caron North Killingsworth and Haight Avenue. No arrests or suspects in the shooting have been identified. Je ffe rso n H igh S chool w as locked dow n for about tw o hours as a p rec a u tio n a fte r the A pril 9 incid en t. T he sh o o tin g , ju s t th ree blocks from the school, o c curred as students were hav- ing lunch in the vicinity. The victim told police he did not know who shot him or why. School district officials say he did not attend the high school, but was a former Port land Public Schools student. CRIME STOPPERS (503) 823-HELP 111 S.W. 2nd Avenue, Portland, Oregon 97204 Violent War Protester Wanted Teen Gets Life for Killing Girlfriend (A P )-A n o rth e a sl Port land teen ager w as sentenced to life in prison with the possibility o f paroleafter25 years for the Jan. 4 killing o f his girlfriend. B enjam in C ram er, 18, stood stonefaced as Judge Henry Kantor added three more years for abusing C assondra B row n’s corpse. For much o f last w eek’s sentenc ing hearing, Cram er heard several o f C assondra’s relatives express sor row and loss, anger and hate, and even compassion forC ram erand his relatives. They said they could not Benjamin Cramer grasp what triggered Cram er to strike Cassondra with a vodka bottle and mug, strangle her with a bungee cord and then cut o ff three o f her limbs in his north Portland house before dum ping her into the Colum bia Slough. A c c o rd in g to c o u rt p a p e rs, C ram er told police he killed Brown after he becam e "increasingly pan icked” as Brown “talked loudly at him about their dim inished relation ship.” A fter sentencing, he briefly turned toward his victim 's fami ly in the court room and in a barely audible voice said, “I’d like to apologize.” Neo-Nazi Suspects Convicted (A P ) — T w o m en prosecutors say are associated w ith a neo-N azi skinhead group have been co n victed o f m alicious harassm ent in an attack on a V ancouver teenager. Jurors deliberated about three hours last W ednesday before con- victingC’arl D. W olff, 30, ofG arden C ity, Idaho and Brandon B. W ebb, 26, o f Star, Idaho in the Jan. 25 attack on Jesse G oodm onson. Prosecutors believe the men are associated w ith T he H am m erskin Nation, a group labeled by the Anti- D efam ation League as “the m ost violent and best-organized neo- Nazi skinhead group in the U nited S tates.” The men w ere in V ancouver Jan. 25 to attend an underground w hite- su p rem acist ro ck c o n c e rt n ear Hillsboro. The assault on G oodm onson, 17, occurred at an apartm ent co m plex before the concert after a shout ing m atch betw een the men and the teenager, w ho says he has w hite, black and H ispanic ancestors. The argum ent w as punctuated w ith ra c ia l s lu rs d ir e c te d at G oodm onson and his friends, ac cording to w itness Jerem y W hitten o f B oise, w ho faces a June trial in the case, also on a charge o f m ali cious harassm ent. A fifth defendant, M atthew R. Schm oyer, 32, o f V ancouver, w ho lived at the apartm ent com plex, pleaded guilty last m onth to m ali cious harassm ent and faces up to a y ear in jail w hen h e ’s sentenced April 17. Police released this photo in an attempt to identify the person who stomped on top of the roof of car blocked by protesters, causing extensive damage. P o rtla n d P o lice, in c o o p e ra tio n w ith C rim e S to p p ers, are a sk in g fo ry o u r h elp in id e n tify ing th e in d iv id u al w ho, w hile p art o f a p ro te st g ro u p , cau sed e x te n s iv e dam age to a m o to ris t’s M e rced es-B en z by ju m p in g up and dow n on the roof. O n S a tu rd ay , M arch 15, at a p p ro x im a te ly 2:15 p.m ., a m o to rist, driving a light silver-blue. 4-door M ercedes-B enz, w as w est onto the ro o f o f the vehicle and bound on the M o rriso n B ridge. began jum ping up and dow n, caus A t the sam e tim e a g ro u p o f p ro ing extensive dam age. testo rs, w ho h ad b een p art o f a The suspect is described as a anti-w ar m arch in dow ntow n Port- w hite m ale in his early to mid-2()s. la n d , ra n o n to th e M o rris o n H e is about 5 feet 7 inches tall and B ridge eastb o u n d in an a ttem p t w eighs roughly 170 pounds, with to d isru p t traffic. brow n or reddish brow n ear length The m otorist stopped to let the hair and sideburns and glasses. protestors past. W hen he did, sev A t the tim e he w as w earing a dark eral o f the protestors sat on his car shirt and b luejeans with a belt and and one o f the protestors ran up w alletchain. Crime stoppers is offering a cash reward o f up to S1,000for information, reported to Crime Stoppers, which leads to an arrest in this case, or any unsolved felony crime. Call Crime Stoppers at 503-823- HELP. Counterfiet Traveler's Checks Surface Community Medical Outreach FREE Healthcare Clinic at Dignity Village Every 2nd Saturday and 4th Wednesday o f the month Saturdays - 11-3 pm Wednesdays - 5-9 pm QUESTIONS - Call Outside In at 503 535-3890 Dignity Village is located at 9325 NE Sunderland Have you talked to Mary at US Bank? [TCbank Five Star Service Guaranteed Mary Egan-Kirk and Althea Williams are available at US Bank on Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. The US Bank is having a campaign to reduce all non-profit Organizations high interest on Mortgage balances. Please call to set-up an appointment today to see if Mary and Althea can save you money. Mary (503) 275-6461 Althea (503) 283-3571 5505 NE Martin Luther King, Jr Blvd. Portland, Oregon 97211 Vancouver pol ice and other law en forcement agencies are report i ng a rash o f counterfeit traveler's checks surfacing in the Clark County area. Local authorities are asking businesses to pay special at tention when a custom er at tempts to pay with a traveler's check. Cashiers should look for a watermark in the paper to help verify a check's authenticity When most brands of traveler’s checks are held up to a light source, a watermark may ap- pearas a translucent image. Most traveler’s checks also have a raised texture that you can feel with your fingertips. A fake check may feel flimsy and have a glossy appearance. Normally, the fine print or graphics on the check may ap- pearto be blurred or indistinct. Store checks can also verify a traveler's check by cal 1 ing the issuer. If a fraudulent traveler’s check has been accepted, re tailers are urged to cal 1 the po lice non-emergency number or 9-1-1 ifthecrime is in progress, paying attention to the suspect’s appearance, vehicleand license number. Deputy’s Wife Charged in Arson (AP)— ThewifeofaClarkCounty S h eriff's deputy w ho set fire to her hom e out o f frustration w ith her h o m e o w n e r ’s in s u r a n c e h a s pleaded no contest to an attem pted arson charge. K im berli Sw enson, 29, cried T hursday as she entered her plea before S uperior C ourt Judge John Nichols. U nder the so-cal led Newton plea, Sw enson m aintained her innocence but acknow ledged sh e ’d probably be found guilty if she w ent to trial. S h e’s to be sentenced M ay 2 and faces one year in jail. “The attem pted arson charge is based upon the fact that it w as obvious the defendant w as s u f fe t-; ing from extrem e emotional distress at the tim e,” said senior deputy prosecutor Tom Duffy. Sw enson reportedly set fire to the co u p le 's hom e Sept. 13, 2001, because her insurance w o u ld n ’t cover dam age caused by a w ater leak in the m aster bedroom . Rodney King Crashes SUV Into House (A P ) — R odney M o n d ay a fte rn o o n , K ing, w h o se v id eo h o sp ital sp o k esm an taped b ea tin g led to Jo rg e V alen cia said. the d e ad ly 1992 ri P o lic e said th e y o ts in Los A n g eles, s u s p e c t th a t K in g w a s h o s p i ta l iz e d w as in to x ic a te d , and w ith a b ro k en p e l a b lo o d sam p le w as v is T u e sd a y a fte r d raw n to d eterm in e he lost co n tro l o f h is b l o o d - a lc o h o l h is S U V w h ile le v e l. T e s t r e s u lts w e a v in g th r o u g h have not yet been re traffic at 100 m ph leased. Rodney King an d cra sh e d into a K ing w as n o t a r h o u se, p o lic e said. rested , but a re p o rt d e ta ilin g the K ing, 39, w as sp o tted S unday crash c irc u m sta n c e s w ill be s u b by a p o lice o ffic e r w ho said K ing m itted to p ro se c u to rs, p o lice Lt. w a s s p e e d i n g a n d w e a v in g K athy T h o m p so n said. th ro u g h traffic in his 2003 F ord K ing, w ho is black, w as chased E xpedition w hen he slam m ed into b y p o l i c e th r o u g h th e S a n a u tility p o le, a ch a in -lin k fence F ern an d o V alley in 1991 and w as and then th e h om e, p o lice said. c a p tu r e d o n v id e o ta p e b e in g N o o n e in the h om e w as injured. beaten by fo u r w h ite o fficers. K in g w as in fa ir c o n d itio n A fter th eir acquittal, riots broke o u t and lasted fo r four d ay s, leav ing 55 dead and m ore than 2 ,0 0 0 in ju red . T h e m ayhem ca u se d $1 b illio n in p ro p erty dam age. K ing la te r receiv ed a $3.8 m il lion settle m e n t from the city o f L os A n g eles in 1994. H e w as co n v ic te d o f sp o u se a b u se in 1999 in S an B ern ard in o C o u n ty an d w as sen ten ced to 90 d ay s in ja il and fo u ry e a rs p ro b a tion. K ing p lead e d no c o n te st to th ree co u n ts o f b ein g u n d e r the in flu en ce o f PC’P and a c o u n t o f in d e c e n t e x p o su re in O c to b e r 2001. A ju d g e gav e K ing a y ear in a d ru g tre a tm e n t c e n te r even th o u g h a p ro se c u to r arg u ed K ing sh o u ld sp en d a y ear in co u n ty jail. R ialto, w h ere K ing liv es, is 53 m iles east o f L os A ngeles. Advertise lor diversity in " Portland Observer. Call 503.388.0033 or email: ads(o,portlandobser\er.coin i 4
