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jtJortlanh (Obsertier
December 24, 2014
Lost to Gun Violence
Community
gathers to
remember
victims
O livia O livia
T he P ortland O bserver
by
A row of mothers stand next to
each other with photos of their chil
dren framed in handcrafted orna
ments. They are reminiscing on their
loss - each of them, having lost a
son or daughter to gun violence in
Portland. They write the names
above the pictures, sometimes the
year of death, and place the orna
ment on a holiday tree.
Perlia Bell holds up a picture of
herdaughter Asia Bell. Lucy Mashia
rounds up her son’s life - he was
bom in 1976 and killed on 82nd
avenue on June 6, 2011 while just
getting off work. A father of three
children, his name was Leonard J.
Irving Jr.
The Office of Youth Violence
Prevention hosted Friday’s gather
ing for the benefit of everyone who
has lost a loved one due to gang or
gun violence.
Antoinette Edwards, director of
the office, welcomed the families,
many who still struggle with the
grief and helplessness of random
gun violence. Earlier the same day,
Mayor Charlie Hales arrived to show
solidarity with the lives of those lost
by also hanging an ornament.
Marci Jackson, the Portland Po
lice Bureau’ s Crisis Response Team
program coordinator, praised the
strength of the black community in
recent years.
“I know it’s not easy, but this
c o m m u n ity has alw ays been
strong,” she says.
The night ended up with several
visitors attending a Kwanzaa din
ner across the street at the Blazer
Boys and Girls Club, where the spiri
photo by O livia O livia /T he P ortland O bserver
tual solidarity of the community Lucy Mashia (left) and Perlia Bell, both mothers of gun violence victims, hang ornaments in memory
united with their hope for an end to o f their lost loved ones, during a gathering of community members at the Office of Youth Violence
gun violence in Portland.
Prevention in northeast Portland.
Cold Case Murder Arrests
Vinson
White,
Adrian
Three men in prison on other charges
Stafford and
were indicted for murder last week follow
Selwyn
ing a 1995 cold case murder investigation
Stafford are
by Portland Police.
charged in a
Adrian Cavett Stafford, 45, SelwynTerris
1995 cold
Stafford, 43 and Vinson Louis White, 51, are
case murder
charged in the death of Darrin Ezell, a 24-
investiga
year-old man who was killed the morning of
tion.
Dec. 20,1985 while sleeping in his own home
in southeast Portland. Two children were
also inside the home but were not harmed.
Authorities said few details about the
homicide can be released at this time as the
case is still an active investigation.
Portland’s Cold Case Homicide Unit has
solved more than 40 of the city’s 250 un
solved murders that have come to them
since their inception in 2004.
Chiropractic Auto Injury Clinic, PC TLWeek in
The Revjew
Zchon R. Jones, DC
333 NE Russell St., #200, Portland, OR. 97212
Boxing Great in Hospital
(503) 284-7838
Truly making a difference in the lives o f
A uto Accident victims and Injured W orkers for nearly 20 years.
If you or someone you know has been in an accident,
call us so we can help you with your needs. (503) 284-7838
We are located
on the corner
o f MLK and
Russell Street,
on the second
floor above the
coffee shop.
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matic relations with Cuba. The
change comes after more than five
decades o f Cold War acrimony with
the communist island nation and
follows secret talks in Canada that
included representatives o f the
Vatican.
Boxing great Muhammad Ali was
hospitalized Saturday with a mild
case o f pneumonia that was caught Officer Walks Free
early and should result in a short The Milwaukie County District At
torney stated Monday that a local
hospital stay, an
police officer who was fired after
A li sp o k esm an
fatally shooting a mentally ill black
said. The three
man in April will not face criminal
time world heavy
charges because it was self-de
weight champion,
fense. It was at least the third
who is battling
white police officer to avoid
Parkinson's dis
charges in the past month after a
e ase , is b ein g
confrontation with a black a man
tre a te d by his
that resulted in the black m an’s
team of doctors and is in stable
death.
condition, said his spokesman.
Gunman Hated Police
The gunman who fatally ambushed
two New York City police officers in
their squad car Saturday had a long
criminal record, a hatred for police
and the government and an appar
ent history of mental instability,
authorities said Sunday. Ismaaiyl
Brinsley was black; the slain offic
ers were Asian and Hispanic.
Diplomacy with Cuba
President Obama announced last
week that he was normalizing diplo-
Naked Man Arrested
A naked man reported to be ex
posing h im self to children in
Holladay Park in Northeast Port
land M onday got into a physical
struggle with a Portland police
officer who .was able to rem ove
the cartridge from her Taser be
fore the man fully took it from her.
He was then taken into custody
by back up officers on charges of
assaulting a public safety officer,
indecent exposure, and theft.