Page A2
______ (Life fJortkuiò (Observer
lune II. 2003
P olice
Woman
Dies from
Spider Bite
(A P )
The C lark C ounty m edical
e xam iner’soffice reports the death o fa 25-
year-old V ancouver w om an is likely re
lated to a spider bite.
G retchen E nsign w as hospitalized on
M ay 20th and died on M ay 29th.
E nsign died o f com plications from the
bite o f what her m other J u lie , described as
"ju st a reg u lar house spider.”
Julie E nsign said she and her daughter
w ere sensitive to spider bites.
D eaths from spider bites are rare.
99 percent o f insect-related deaths are
due to bees and w asps.
Suspect Caught with 500 Credit Cards
(A P )
Police found m ore than
500 stolen credit cards and check-
!
T hey think they w ere taken from
Sw e et W a te rs Ja m H o u se on
books inside the home of a bur-
glary suspect in Southeast Port-
j
I
Southeast Morrison Street — a
restaurant that was recently bur-
M>
'"*» IB *
land.
O fficers a rrested 31-y ear-o ld
glarized.
I n v e s t ig a t o r s b e li e v e th a t
T asha N ilsen a fte r finding the evi-
N elson and oth ers used the stolen
denee in her hom e.
f j,
credit card inform ation to order
T hey got a search w arrant and
J
’ ' ' large am ounts o f p roperty through
found stacks o free e ip ts and checks
the Internet,
that had been stolen from a nearby
f
Investigators are trying to track
restau ran t.
Tasha Nilsen
dow n custom ers w h o m ay have
O fficers disco v ered m ore than 500 stolen
used a credit card at the restau ran t betw een
credit card num bers, checks and checkbooks.
M a rc h 2001 andJuly2O O 2.
Reward Offered in SE Bank Robbery
Go from
'I went to the mall
to "I got the mall."
M
Sketches from the FBI show two men and a woman wanted for robbing a southeast
Portland bank.
Buy a $5 Mega Millions ticket
Win a $25,000 shopping spree,
Mega Millions drawings are held Tuesdays and Fridays and proceeds stay in Washington
The O regon FBI is o ffering up to $5,000
rew ard for inform ation leading to the arrest o f
those responsible for the A pril 9 robbery at the
B ank o f the W est, 8135 S.E. D ivision.
T hree people entered the bank at about 9:50
a.m . O ne person ju m p e d up onto the co u n ter and
shouted that the bank w as being robbed. At
least one person had a handgun. T here w ere
approxim ately lO p eo p le,includingtw ocustom -
ers, in the bank at the tim e o f the robbery. N o
shots w ere fired and no one w as hurt.
T he suspects are all A frican A m erican w ith
m edium c om plexions, in their late 2 0 ’s to early
3 0 ’s, w ith average height and w eight. O ne o f the
robbers w as a w om an, and she w as w earing a
knit hat. All w ork dark clothing.
The robbers w ere seen leaving the bank in
w hat turned out to be a stolen car. Portland
Police O fficers responding to the scene w ere
able to im m ediately d eterm in e that the c ar had
been taken from an ap artm ent com plex a few
m iles aw ay e arlier in the m orning. T he car w as
found abandoned a short tim e a fte r the robbery
at SE 76th and Lincoln.
A nyone w ith inform ation about the robbery or
suspects is asked tocall the FBI at 503-224-4181.
Buy whatever you want.
Overall odds ot Mega Millions are 1:43 Overall promotional odds of winning the $25,000 She
M ust be 18 to purchase or redeem Be a swart player. Know your limit Problertt
iprea depend on the number of entries
ig Helpline. 1 800-547 6133.
Tigard Burglary Suspect Wanted
T igard Police, in cooperation
w ith C rim e S toppers, is asking for
yo u r help in locating and a ppre
hending a Portland m an on charges
o f burglary and m enacing,
Luke A lexisJordan isa c c u se d o f
a M ay 14 residential burglary on
Southw est A nn Street w here a m an
confronted a fem ale victim. In addi
tion, authorities w ant to question
him in connection with an attem pted
prescription forgery that sam e day
at W alg reen ’s on S outhw est Pa
cific Highway.
Jordan is a 27-y ear-o ld w hite
m ale, w ith a d a te o fb irth o fJ a n . 14,
1976. H e is five feet 10 inches tall
a n d w e ig h s 175 p o u n d s w ith
blonde hair and blue eyes.
Luke Alexis Jordan
Crime Stoppers, that leads to
an arrest in this case, or any un
solved felony crime, and you need
not give your name. Call Crime
Stoppers at 503-823-4357.
Medical Marijuana Leader Faces Prison
(A P ) — T he founder o f a S alem resource
c en ter for m edical m arijuana p atients w as c o n
victed on d rug charges M onday by a M arion
C ounty judge.
R obert G ray w as co n v icted o f possession,
distribution and m anufactureofm arijuana. Gray,
the founder o f the M edical C annabis R esource
C enter, elected to have Judge Joseph O choa
h e ar the case instead o f a ju ry .
G ray w ill likely be sentenced to nearly 3 1/2
years in jail, O choa said. S entencing w as sch ed
uled fo r A ug. 13.
Last M arch, police found 37 m arijuana plants
at G ra y 's distribution center and o ver one pound
o f dried m ariju an a at his hom e.
O re g o n ’s m edical m ariju an a law allow s
cardholding patients or designated caregivers
to grow as m any as seven plants o r p ossess up
to seven ounces o f dried m arijuana.
G ray had contended he w as careg iv er to five
people b esides him self, th u s w as entitled to
possess the larger am ount.
Portland Airport Screeners Fired
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. Discover
the peace of mind of knowing Family's
always at home protecting what matters most
to you. American Family Insurance.
Check your local telephone directory for
the agent nearest you
â *"*'**’
MW«
www «Mim «sm
AD 00041«
AMERICAN FAMILY
ComoAny and « SufaMtar-M
IN S U R A N C E
All your protection under one root
T he T ransportation Security A dm inistration
has fired 25 federal screeners at P ortland Inter
national A irport since late last year.
The dism issals follow ed a variety o f offenses,
from failing background checks to m aking up a
security breach that forced the c losure o f tw o
co n co u rse s.
A nother screener now faces term ination and
potential crim inal charges after he w as arrested in
late M ay and accused o f taking $ 1,300 dollars in
cash from a passenger’s purse at a checkpoint.
The
T r a n s p o r t a ti o n
S e c u r it y
A d m in istra tio n ’s w oes at the airp o rt reflect
criticism the agency received nationw ide. B ack
ground checks have not been com pleted on
m ore than h a lf o f its 52,000 screeners. A cross
the country, the agency has fired one thousand
200 screeners for failing b a ckground checks.
Man Dies Restrained in Jail Chair
(A P )— A m an arrested on charges o f cri m i nal
m isch ie f and d isorderly c onduct died after he
stopped breathing w hile he w as restrained in a
chair at the M arion C ounty Jail in Salem , officials
said.
John Joseph C ourchesne, 39, stopped breath
ing shortly a fter 11:10 p.m . M ay 3 1 as d eputies
began booking him into the ja il. S h e riff Raul
Ram irez said Friday.
A t the tim e. C o u rch esn e w as restrained in a
c h air that is used to hold unruly inm ates.
Param edics revived him and he im m ediately
w as taken to Salem H ospital, w here he died
about 4:40 p.m . S unday. R am irez said.
The sh e riff called the w eeklong delay in re
leasing new s o f C o u rc h e sn e 's death “ an o v e r
sig h t" for w hich he accepted responsibility.
“ T h e re 's no hidden ag en d a," R am irez said.
"W e should have gotten the inform ation out
earlier.”
An autopsy cond u cted M onday w as unable
to d eterm ine the cause o f death. M ore tests
w ere p lanned and results w ere expected w ithin
five w eeks.
Salem pol ice arrested C ourchesne about 10:30
p.m .M ay31 fo rc a u sin g a d istu rb a n c ea ta m o te l.
He had been throw ing furniture out the w indow
o f his seco n d -flo o r room , said Salem police Lt.
Bill Kohlmeyer.
“ H e appeared em otionally disturbed, saying
people w ere w aiting in the p a rking lot for him ,
p eople w ere a fte r him ,” K ohlm eyer said.