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Page A2
June 04. 2003
P olice
Officer Returns
Home From Hospital
(A P ) — C lackam as County
sheriff’s Sgt. Damon Coates has
been home for short visits. Now it
looks like he’s home for good.
Coates, 42, was shot in the face
Jan. 9 by Nick Teixeira, 15, whose
parents had called police for help
taking the youth toa mental facility
for treatment, according to police.
Officials Thursday said Coates
can work on his rehabilitation at
home.
Coates will still receive round-
the-clock nursing care, said Deputy
Andrew McVey, Coates’ brother-
Fireman Moonlighted as Arsonist
Official sentenced to prison for lighting Gorge fires
in-law. The officer cannot walk or
stand on hisown. He remains unable
to swallow and is fed through a tube.
In two to three weeks, Coates
will undergo another surgery to
implant a bone in his skull, McVey
said. For now, he wears a bicycle
helmet to protect his head.
Coates’ wife, Tammy, released a
statem ent saying she and the
couple’s four children are “excited,
yet nervous” about the transition.
She said she hopes people will re
spect the fam ily’s privacy.
Teixeira has pleaded innocent to
Sgt. Damon Coates
charges o f attempted aggravated
murder and first-degree assault with
a firearm. He is being held at a
Multnomah County juvenile deten
tion center.
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(A P)— A volunteer firefighter
who set seven fires in the Colum
bia River Gorge last summer
pleaded guilty to arson charges
and was sentenced to five years
in prison.
Peter David Traxler, 26, could
have spent 23 years in jail and
paid a fine o f $ 4 15,000, but under
a plea agreement he will be eli
gible for boot camp after serving
two years in prison.
Traxler admitted setting the
fires in the Corbett area from July
through September 2002. One o f
the fires burned a building owned
by a church, causing $25,000 dam
age, said prosecutor Rod Underhill.
Under the plea, Traxler must re
pay the church and its insurance
company.
Underhill said Wednesday that
investigators began looking at
Traxler as a suspect in a rash o f
building and brush fires because
he was always the firstfirefighter to
arrive. All the fires had a similar
origin, a lighted cigar or a match.
“ He told investigators that he
had a lot o f stresses in his life.
relationship and family stress,"
Underhill said. "H e had his rea
sons, but they don’t make any
sense.”
Underhill said Traxler wanted to
become a full-time firefighter, and
may have used the fires to display
his skill. No one was hurt in the
fires.
Investigators confronted Traxler
about the fires last fall and he admit
ted setting them. Since November,
Traxler has been living in his
parent’s home in Corbett under
close supervision.
Would-Be Kidnapper Wanted
Police search
for man scared
off by child’s
mother
Portland Police, in coopera
tion w ith Crim e Stoppers, are
asking for your help in identify
ing a man who attem pted to kid
nap a 3-year-old boy from his
front yard during the afternoon
o f May 22.
Police said the man crossed a >
fence to gain access to the yard in A police sketch o f an at
the 11800 block o f East Burnside tempted kidnapping suspect.
where the boy was playing. When utility van.
confronted by the child’s mother,
The suspect is described as a
the suspect jum ped back over the white male in his m id-30’s, 6 feet I
fence and fled in a two-tone gray inch to 6 feet 2 inches tall, weighing
240 to 260 pounds with a stocky
build, short brown hair curled up in
the back, and brown eyes. At the
time, he was wearing a black T-shirt
and jeans.
The van is described as an
older, possibly mid-80s, cargo van
with light gray on the top and
dark gray on the bottom . The rear
w indow s w ere covered with, a
brow nish-gold opaque film. The
rear license plate appeared to have
yellow /orange across the top and
a green cactus in the center.
Crim e Stoppers is offering a
cash rew ard o f up to $1,000 for
inform ation, reported to C rim e
Stoppers, that leads to an arrest
in th is case, or any unsolved
felony crim e, and you need not
give your name. Call Crim e S top
pers at 503 823-HELP (4357).
Teens Arrested for Vancouver Arson
The V ancouver Fire D epart
Two 15-year-old boys were ar
ment and V ancouver rested for arson after neighbors
P o lice A rso n U nit reported seeing two suspicious
have determ ined that teenagers on the property just prior
a structure fire on East to the fire.
I8lh Street was inten
A uthorities said the juveniles
tionally set.
ignited the fire by lighting card
board and clothing being stored
in the carport outside the home.
No one was injured, but dam ages
are estim ated at $80,000. T he j u
veniles are also being in v esti
gated for acts o f m alicious m is
ch ief in the sam e neighborhood.
Tree Burglars Rob Vancouver Nursery
Vancouver Police are asking for the public’s
help in solving a series o f tree thefts from a local
nursery.
Burglars have hit the Cascade Greenhouse
on 112th A venue at least three times, taking over
$ 1,700 worth o f young trees.
Police suspect the burglaries may be related
to a similar crime pattern in 2 0 0 0 and 2 0 0 1. In
those cases, the thieves sold the trees to nurs
eries within a few days after the thefts.
V a n c o u v e r P o lic e D e te c tiv e C a ro le
Boswell is asking that nursery ow ners and
the com m unity be aw are o f people attem pting
to sell Lace L eaf M aples, Junipers or other
exotic landscaping trees. A uthorities ask that
residents report suspicious activity to 9 1 1
and take down license plates or other av ail
able suspect inform ation.
Vancouver Police Boost Public Outreach
Department hopes to
open up dialogue
with community
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The Vancouver Police Department would
1.1 to invite the public to spend "An Evening
wiili the Vancouver Police Department" on
Wednesday, June 11 from 6p.m . to8:30p.m . at
the Water Resource Education Center located
at 4600 S.E. Columbia Way in Vancouver.
This public forum will allow members ofthe
department command staff to introduce them
selves to community members, to discuss sev
eral important issues the Police Department is
undertaking and to hear from citizens and an-
swer their questions.
The goal o f this forum is to open up the
Vancouver Police Department to the citizens o f
Vancouver through dialogue and displays. Sev
eral units from the department will have interac
tive displays and staff will be on hand to answer
questions and receive comments and sugges
tions for improving working relationships be
tween police and the public they serve.
“ I see the expansion o f com m unication
with our citizens as a high priority for our
agency and believe very strongly in the p ro
fession o f law enforcem ent being one o f ser
vice to others," V ancouver Police C h ief Brian
M artinek said.
For more information, contact Sgt. George
Delgado at 360-619 -4 188.
City Clamps Down on Disabled Vehicles
Cars on private
property can be
tagged for removal
The disabled vehicle complaint response
program, which was temporarily suspended in
December due to budget and staff cutbacks,
has been reinstated.
N eighborhood inspections will investi
gate com plaints o f vehicles stored on p ri
vate property for seven days or more that are
not in a garage or carport and have visible
signs o f inoperability. Visibly disabled ve
hicles that m eet these criteria may be tagged
for removal. Indications o f a disabled vehicle
may include m issing or fiat tires, m issing
engine or battery, broken w indow s, body
dam age or overgrow th surrounding the v e
hicle.
Those wishing to file a complaint regarding
disabled vehicles at a property may contact the
Neighborhood Inspections intake line at 503-
823-7306. Please know the property address,
description o f the vehicle, license plate informa
tion and description o f any indications that the
vehicle is disabled.