Portland observer., June 29, 2011, Page 5, Image 5

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June 29, 2011
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Yashanee Vaughn Case Update One Killed, Two Hurt
in Weekend Shooting
for accused h te®n
rem ain in jail w ith no bail due to
strong evidence that he killed 14-
year-old Y ashanee V aughn and dis­
posed o f the Portland g irl’s body,
w hich has not been located.
H o m ic id e d e te c tiv e s su sp e c t
B ennette Jr. shot and killed V aughn
in the bedroom o f his fath er’s north­
east Portland hom e on the evening
o f Saturday, M arch 19.
A forensic analysis o f blood spat­
ter on the floor and w all o f the
B ennette J r.’s bedroom indicated
that V aughn w as struck or beaten
and left on the floor, bleeding pro ­
fusely, said prosecutors.
T he suspected m urder w eapon, a
.38 revolver, passed through at least
three people before police reco v ­
ered it and m atched a spent shell
casing with a .38-caliber bullet found
in B ennette’s house.
T he gun also m atched the .38
caliber that B ennette Jr. held up in a
self- photo taken in front o f a m irror
on his cell phone the night before
the suspected m urder, authorities
said. T estim ony also included a
re c o rd ed statem e n t o f B en n ette
boasting to a friend that he was a
pimp.
B ennette Sr., father o f the sus­
pect, returned hom e from a T acom a
trip M arch 19 around 7:45 p.m ., and
told police he w itnessed his son
going up and dow n the stairs and
com ing in and out o f his room sev-
photo by M ark W ashington /T he
P ortland O bserver
Dozens o f family and friends o f Yashanee Vaughn keep the
missing 14-year-old g irl’s case out in front o f the public by
marching in Saturday’s Good in the Neighborhood parade on
Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
eral tim es. He also noticed a stench
“ He described w hat happened as
o f bleach com ing from his so n ’s an accident, that he had a gun, and
room , but he did not enter his room . it w ent off, and it struck h er,” D etec­
S ta y in g at his g ra n d p a re n ts ’ tive M ark Slater testified, “ H e said
house after a w eek-long trip to C ali­ he got rid o f her.”
fornia and on account o f increased
A fter his fa th e r’s g irlfrien d testi­
suspicions o f his involvem ent w ith fied that she urged B ennette Jr. to
V aughn, B ennette Jr. described for speak up about V a u g h n ’s w here­
the first tim e to his father w hat h ap­ ab o u ts, she told p o lice he said,
pened:
“T hey w o n ’t go up th e re .”
H om icide detectives are ask ­
L eonard Jam es " U " Irving, 34,
died from a gunshot w ound to the ing for the public's help in the
neck on Sunday at 12:37 a.m . on investigation. T hey have not d e ­
N ortheast 82nd A venue and T h ­ term ined if the gunfire was gang-
related.
om pson Street.
Anyone with inform ation about
A second m an, identified as
the
shooting contact Det. Erik
L am ar Lovette H ill, 21, w as seri­
ously injured. A third m an, Jeray Kämmerer at 503 823-0762 orem ail
L ashaw n Jessie, 21, suffered a erik.kamnierer («’portlandoregon.gov
C rim e Stoppers is offering a
gunshot w ound to the forearm .
D etectives have determ ined that cash rew ard o f up to $ 1,000 for
there w as som e sort o f disturbance inform ation, reported to C rim e
that resulted in the gunfire. An Stoppers, that leads to an arrest in
autopsy determ ined that Irving died this case, or any unsolved felony,
and you can rem ain anonym ous.
o f m ultiple gunshot w ounds.
Men Arrested in Bias Crime
A gay man w alking from a do wn- w ho w as assaulted after com ing to
to w n c lu b was harassed and called the aid o f the initial victim .
derogatory nam es by tw o m en who
The good Samaritan suffered non­
initially asked for directions.
life threatening injuries. As officers
W hen police arrived at 2:57 a.m. talked with witnesses, the suspects re­
Sunday, they found another man turned to the scene and were taken into
lying in the street at N orthw est custody. Shawn Siefke, 28, wascharged
Second A venue and Flanders. A with assault and intimidation and Chris­
w itness told police the m an on the tian Sanchez-V illavencio, 21 was
ground w as a “ good S am aritan” charged with assault.
NEW S E A S O N S
r»
B
F
Charles Earl Howell
Cat Burglar Arrest
A m an was arrested by Portland
police on T hursday in connection
to several “cat burglaries” in the
southw est Portland hills over the
past tw o m onths.
T ipped o ff by the com m unity,
police arrested C harles Earl How ell,
26, as he w as w alking dow n the
street in north Portland and charged
him w ith four counts o f burglary. He
w as also w anted on an outstanding
w arrant for robbery.
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