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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (April 30, 2003)
$lje ‘P ortlanò (ßbsmier Page A2 April 30. 2003 P olice CRIME = STOPPERS A photo shows a violent confronta tion with police during a March 20 war protest downtown. Police hope the photo graph can help track down a suspect wanted for using a bat to strike an officer in the head. The suspect is located ju st left and below the "stop" sign. Teen Sentenced in Officer’s Shooting (AP) — A 17- w eapon and year-old has been forgery. The at sentenced to 716 tempted murder years in a youth charges were re prison for shoot duced from at ing a Portland po tempted aggra lice officer in the vated m urder, head last O cto w h ic h w ould Dustin Tyler Gomez ber. have carried a Dusti n Tyler Gom ez shot 10-year sentence. Officer George Weseman Jr. If he d o e sn ’t have any as the officer was attempting d is c ip lin a r y p ro b le m s, to handcuff the teen fortrying Gom ez will serve his entire to pass a bogus $500 check sentence at the M acLaren at a check cashing store in Y outh C orrectional Facil southeast Portland. Gomez ity. A fter age 18, he could pulled a ,22-caliber pistol from go to state prison if he his waist, spun around and doesn’t behave. fired. “This obviously is an ex Weseman returned fire, hit tra-serious crime,” said Don ting the teen multiple times. Rees, deputy district attor Weseman, who survived the ney for Multnomah County. shooting, was in court Tues- “George Weseman was shot day for the sentencing. in the head and but for the Under a settlement agree bullet'spath, Mr. Weseman ment, Gomez pleaded gui Ity w ouldn’t (be here) today to attempted murder, first-de and Mr. G om ez w ould not gree assault, unlawful useofa be leaving prison.” 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 unsolved felony crime, any you need not give your name. Cal! Crime Stoppers at 503-823-HELP. Protestor Wanted for Police Assault Portland Police are releasing ors, marching behind two large signs sign that read “Capitalism Kills." photos and asking for the public's that read “All Bets Are O f f ” and Inside the cardboard sign, as it was help in identifying the individuals “Shut it Down" went up a west later learned, was a bat that was pictured. The photos are also being ramp o f the Steel Bridge and con used to strike an officer in the head. posted on the Portland Police fronted police who were on the The officer required ten stitches to Bureau’s Website. bridge. close the wound. On Thursday, March 20 at about In the group o f protestors was Crim e Stoppers is offering a 6 p.m., a splinter group o f protest an individual carrying a cardboard cash rew ard o f up to $1,000 for inform ation, reported to Crim e Stoppers, that leads to an arrest in this case and the identities o f individuals in the photos. Call Crime Stoppers at 503-823-HELP o r v isit th e P o rtla n d P o lice B u r e a u ’s w e b s ite at ww w.portlandpolicebureau.com . C h ild A t t a c k N e ts 5 0 Y e a r T e r m (A P) — A man was sen tenced Thursday to 50 years in prison for kidnapping a two-year-old Vancouver girl for an hour and a h a lf and raping her. E sc o lá stic o B orboa o f S ilverton, Ore. was found guilty in February o f rape, kidnapping and assault. Vancouver Police arrested him after he snatched a young c h ild from a p ark n ear' V ancouver’s Parsley C en ter, a popular spot for fam i lies and kids. M embers o f the to d d le r’s fam ily were playing basketball when they noticed she was m issing. She later turned up, bleed- ing a n d s h a k in g , on a stra n g e r’s doorstep, three m iles from w here she was snatched. Police had said it was unclear how she got away. The judge deemed Borboa a “threat to the com m unity” and said the child and her fam ily were severely traumatized. The prosecution had pushed for 60 years behind bars. Race Matters in Executions use the death penalty more often,” Scheidegger said. “That produces an effect that it’s used more often in white victim cases. But that’s not discrimination; that is politics.” Blacks comprise 12 percent o f the U.S. popu lation, according to the Justice Department’s (AP) Blacks and whites are murdered in Bureau o f Justice Statistics, but 41 percent of. about equal numbers, but what happens to their those on death row and 35 percent o f those killers can be far different. executed from 1977 to 2 0 0 1 were black. According to a new report by Amnesty Inter A m nesty’s research found that one in five national, those who murder whites are much executed blacks was convicted by a jury with more likely to be executed than killers ofblacks. out any blacks. The human rights organi A Justice Department re zation, which opposes the port in 2000 found that from A Justice death penalty, said 80 percent 1995 to 2000, almost three- o f the 845 people executed Department report in fourths o f the 183 federal de since the United States re 2000 found ...almost fendants facing the death sumed the practice in 1977 penalty were minorities. • were put to death for killing three-fourths o f the A ttorney G eneral John whites. Ashcroft attributed the fig 183 federal A disproportionate num ures to differences in state ber o f those who were ex defendants facing the laws, prosecution decisions ecuted were black and many death penalty were and geography. were convicted by juries that “There is no evidence o f minorities. included no blacks, the group racial bias in the adm inistra said in a report. tion o f the federal death pen Amnesty International contended that the alty,” Ashcroft told federal lawmakers in June. findings, which it compiled from government Some recent studies have concluded other statistics and its own tracking, show the death wise. penalty is applied unfairly. It released the report An I llinois study found that juries were three now because the 300th black inmate was about times more likely to sentence a person to death to be execu te^ if the victim was white rather than black. Repub Kent Scheidegger, legal director o f the pro lican Gov. George Ryan cited those findings in death penalty Criminal Justice Legal Founda January when he commuted 167 death sen tion, blamed racial differences on a lack of tences. prosecutors in areas with high minority popu A Pennsylvania Supreme Court-appointed lations who were willing to seek the death commission reported last month that black de penalty. fendants were more likely to be sentenced to “ Prosecutors in more conservative counties death and recommended a moratorium on ex ecutions while the issue was studied. Report finds killers of whites more likely to be put to death At home with Family. Turning work into play. Connecting on a different level just by changing scenery. Hanging out til dark. Outdoor bliss. Home! Over three generations of homeowners have trusted American Family Insurance for the sound advice and committed service that helps them live life to the fullest. Give us a call or visit www.amfam.com today. 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On request, Scrivner pulled the underwear from behind the seat. “They did not appear to be wet." Gadaire wrote. "However, they were very disgusting." M eanw hile, s h e riff s Sgt. C raig H ogm an was told by two w om en w orking at the fast- food outlet that Scrivner was naked below the w aist w hen he drove up to the takeout window. Scrivner said the idea “just popped into his head,” Gadaire wrote. "H e stated it was his own personal thing and he did not mean to scare the employees.”