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(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
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