.37
years
500
Women’s History
of
Month
Rose Court
Selection
Coninues...
S pecial E dition
community service
see inside, page B3
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Committed to Cultural Diversity
Volume XXXVII. Number II
TLWeek in
Thc Review
r v i r l I si n /d n h c p r v f»
www.portlandobserver.com
IQ 7 1970
D
in
Answers at Last in Asia Bell Murder
Perlia Bell never let the
community forget her daughter
Church Fire Results Vague
The congregation o f M orning Star
M issionary Baptist Church may
never know what happened to their
place o f worship. A ccording to
M etro arson task Force, the status
is closed with undeterm ined. A
neighborhood fixture since 1919,
M orning S tar w ent ablaze and
brought together the com m unity
in an effort to rebuild faith without
a place o f worship. See sto ry on
p ageA 2.
ing the m ystery since neither Bell or
by S arah B lount
Jam es w ere affiliated with gangs or
T he P ortland O bserver
Fi ve years after a spray o f bu I lets had any know n enem ies. Finally,
took Asia B ell’s young life, police on M arch 9 Portland police an
have finally cracked the north P ort nounced four arrests in w hat they
land m urder. T he breakthrough called a gang-related retaliation, but
brought relief to her m other, Perlia not a m urder intended for Bell. The
Bell, w ho never ceased to keep her Cold C ase Squad said the shooting
d au ghter’s case in the public eye. was related to her fath er's and his
Bell, a 23-year-old motherof" four, cousin’s gang activity.
A rraignm ents were held last Fri
died instantly on Nov. 20, 2002,
after at least 17 bullets were fired day for Rico G onzales, 34, for fed
onto the porch o f her hom e on eral drug charges related to the
North M ississippi and Jessup. Her possession o f crack cocaine, and
husband Tyrone Jam es was perm a Sonja Hutchins, who has a child
nently blinded and friend Robert with Klein, for one count o f co n
spiracy tocom m it murder. Arraign-
M illhouse was wounded.
For years nobody cam e forward
continued
on page A 6
with enough inform ation, deepen
Busta Rhymes Busted
I Busta Rhym es was
pr c v 111,1 n 1 ' ' nb
ing a
tins
w eekend
I B j NYPD voiced safety
K , *
concerns over the rap p er's ap
p earance. R hym es, real nam e
T revor Sm ith, was scheduled to
ft 1 m hi s role i n “O rder o f Redem p
tion” in M anhattan. N Y PD has
voiced displeasure with R hym es’
lack o f cooperation with the inves
tigation into the shooting death o f
Israel Ramirez, a man w ho was
fatally w ounded last year on the
set o f R hym es’ “Touch It” video.
Diabetic Woman Tasered
Portland Police used a taser to
subdue Brandi Hess, a diabetic
w om an w ho was allegedly behav
ing ag g ressiv ely . P olice w ere
called on Saturday night to assist
medical personnel w ho were at
tem pting to aid Hess, 26, w ho was
experiencing a diabetic episode.
A ccording to a police report an
officer was kicked several tim es in
the stom ach and groin and a
firefighter was also punched more
than once.
Wrestling, Football Great Dies
Ernie “ Big C at”
Ladd was in the
A m erican Foot
ball League and
the W orld W res
tling Federation
Hall o f Fame. Ladd died Saturday
night due to cancer. In 2005, doc
tors gave Ladd three-to-si x months
to live. He instead believed in "Dr.
Jesus" and lived tw o years longer.
Ladd helped the K ansas C ity
C hiefs go to Superbowl in 1967
and 1970.
Bush Wraps up Latin Tour
President Bush, w orkingtorebuild
strained U .S.-M exico relations,
prom ised T uesday he w ould do
his best to get a deeply divided
U.S. Congress to change A m eri
can im m igration policies that are
hated south o f
th e
b o rd e r.
"M y pledge to
you and your
g o v e r n m e n t,
but m ore im
portant to the
people o f M exico, is I’ll work as
hard as I possibly can to pass
com prehensive im m igration re
form ,” Bush said. See sto ry on
page A2.
g
h
2 o
ih
p
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Wednesday • March 14. 2007
photo by
M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver
Perlia Bell is joined by Portland Police Sgt. Wayne Svilar (left), Sgt. Paul Weatheroy and Sgt.
George Weatheroy during last Friday's press conference announcing four arrests in the 2002
murder of Bell's daughter, Asia Bell.
A Mother’s Loss
Eases a Father’s New Grief
Advocate helps
a family friend
by S arah B lount
T he P ortland O bserver
On M arch5 Perlia Bell accom pa
nied David Moaning to the Portland
Observer. Bell was there as a friend
and advocate to Moaning, the father
of23-year-old Jermaine Nyron Davis,
who lost his life in an unexplained
New Year’s shooting. She wanted to
help her friend through the most
difficult trial he would ever face -
losing a child, because she went
through the same grief five years
earlier. Her 23-year-old daughter.
Asia Bell, was senselessly murdered
in2002.
After A sia’s death Perliafounded
a nonprofit, Senseless V iolence
Leads to Silence, to help persuade
witnesses o f violent crimes to come
forward despite fear or retribution or
being labeled a snitch. She also pro
vides grief counseling for African
Americans, which is how she was
reconnected with Moaning, a family
friend of more than 30 years.
In early January, as the media
reported D avis’ death as the firs, of
the year. Bell stared at her television
and wondered i f this young man was
from a family she knew.
Later, she called Cox and Cox
funeral hom e tofindout his identity.
continued
on page A6
This photo o f Asia Bell was taken shortly before her fatal shooting
Will Your Kids Be In by Curfew?
If not, north and
northeast parents
could be fined
up to $ 1,000
by N icole R onai . H ooper
T he P ortland O bserver
Spring Break could mean a later bedtime
for children and a hefty fine for parents, if
they live in acertain area. But for the duration
o f this students’ holiday, police will target
north/northeast and dow ntow n Portland for
curfew violations, to test a new program that
could cost parents up to $ 1.000.
W hen a child under the age o f 14 and not
ye, in high school breaks the curfew , parents
will have to appear in juvenile court where
they are urged to attend the a six-session
program - a preventative m easure aimed at
helping parents and children realizethe dan
gers o f being out past curfew .
“People in northeast Portland were ask
ing us what we could do. There were many
com m unity m eetings held," said Sgt. Frank
“B ob” G orgone, W estern Regional A dm in
istrator for the federally funded program
G .R.E.A.T. (Gang Resistance Education and
Training).
Curfew laws have alw ays been in place in
Portland, but what has changed is the option
for families to work with the program . C ur
rently there are six families in the program
and they met', at the Blazers Boys and (¡iris
Club on N.E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Thc focus o f the curfew sting starting in
that particular par, o f town may have citizens
wondering if the pnigram is racial ly motivated.
“ I’m sure most people realize that thc
biggest concentration o f m inorities in Port
1
Sgt. Frank "Bob"
Gorgone (above).
Western Regional
Administrator for
G.R.E.A.T (Gang
Resistance Education
and Training)
Program
photo by
M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bsi
ry t k
If these kids were at the intersection of N.E. Martin Luther Ring Jr. Blvd. and Killingsworth St. past
curfew, it could cost their parents $1,000.
land. reside in north and northeast, why are
we singled out?” said Y vonne Boss, whose
daughter Schuyler is 14.
“ I realize not all children are thc same, but
to target specific areas o f the city smacks of
profiling.”
The Portland Police have recent allega
tions of racial profiling. According to Police
Officer Brian Schmautz. the reason for north
and northeast and downtown being thc start
ing point is because large crowds tend to
congregate there. Many venues that cater to
the underage crowd, like The Zone dow n
town, slay open until 3:15 a m. way pas,
curfew foreven 17 year olds. Officials say that
the later the time, the more I ikeli h< x xl forcrime.
“Statistically shots are fired late at night."
said Schmautz. “ Kids w ho are ou, that late
are more likely to ge, in trouble and find
them selves in high-risk behavior." The pro
gram is another option in having com m uni
cation between parent and child.
"They d o n ’, have to attend | the program |
but thc process is designed to get parents
and children talking together and discour
aging crim inal behavior,” said Schmautz.
"Som e kids are lacking direction and we
want parents to lake a more active role in
their ch ild ren 's lives.”
T hc second tim e a child breaks curfew ,
the punishm ent isn 't as friendly. A hefty fine
for parents up to $I,(MX) is assessed. A price
that north Portland resident Y vonne Boss
calls, “astronom ical.”
The curfew may be conf using for som e,
on w eeknights if a child is under 14 and not
yet in high school, thc curfew is9 :1 5 p.m. and
on w eekends 10:15 p.m.
“ I d o n 't think it’s norm al for any 14 year
old to be ou, late at night." G orgone.
See commentary on A4. “Wrecking
k id s ’ I .¡Yes."
1