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J UNE 11, 2014
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V OLUME XXXVI, N O . 36
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C HALLENGING P EOPLE TO S HAPE A B ETTER F UTURE N OW
Gun
Violence
Strikes
25
INNOCENT
Multiple unrelated
incidents prompt
question: Why?
Lisa Loving
Of The Skanner News
See SHOOTINGS on page 3
INDEX
News ..............1,3,8-10
Opinion .....................2
Calendars ..............4,5
A & E ......................6,7
Bids/Classifieds ........11
PHOTO CREDIT IOREGON INNOCENCE PROJECT
F
atal shootings from Seattle to Portland
rocked the Pacific Northwest over the
past week, leaving diverse communi-
ties calling for prayer — and policy — to
address gun violence.
First, a double fatal shooting early Sunday
morning in the Leschi neighborhood
claimed the lives of Ahmed Said, 27, and
Dwone Anderson-Young, 23. Police said the
murders were not gang-related, the victims
had no criminal history, but at least one was
known to be gay. Matalepuna Malu, 26, a
native of Samoa, turned himself in and has
been arrested in the case.
On Thursday, a mass shooting at Seattle
Pacific University took the life of one stu-
dent, and wounded two others. Prosecutors
say the gunman, Aaron Ybarra, 26, had
stopped taking medication for a mental
health condition before brandishing a rifle
and taking the life of Portland native Paul
Lee, 19. He’s been charged with one count
of first-degree murder and two counts of
attempted murder.
In a third unrelated incident in Seattle,
police say 30 shots were fired in the Interna-
tional District early Saturday morning,
killing 27-year-old Mohammad Osman and
wounding several others. There are no sus-
pects.
In Kennewick Washington,16-year-old
Kaitlin Deborah Chavallo and her 12 year
old stepbrother Ethan Andrew Austin were
found dead in their home Monday with mul-
tiple gunshot wounds; police are still
investigating that case and have not identi-
fied the shooter.
Also Monday, husband and wife were
found dead in their Vancouver, Wash. home;
their 23-year-old son was also shot but is
expected to live, However the family dog
was also shot to death. Police there say the
husband, Danny Lee Luster, had been out of
work and was despondent.
Lisa Roberts celebrated her release from prison May 28, with Steven Wax, legal director for the Oregon Innocence
Project. Roberts served nearly twelve years for a crime she did not commit. She pled guilty to the murder of her
girlfriend, Jerri Lee Williams, in 2004, after her lawyer advised her she could not hope to win in court. U.S. District
Judge Malcolm Marsh found that new DNA evidence and Roberts’ legal team’s investigation showed she was
innocent. Roberts is the 9th person to be exonerated in Oregon.
Gang Group Hears from Victims
Police recorded 52 incidents of violence, up from 2013 figures
By Helen Silvis
Of The Skanner News
T
wo mothers who lost
their sons in gang shoot-
ings
appealed
for
witnesses to come forward and
help solve those crimes. Brenda
Davis and Lucy Mashia spoke at
Portland’s gang task force meet-
ing, Friday a.m. in the North
Portland precinct.
“My son Terry Norris was
murdered in 1999, but it feels to
me like yesterday,” Davis said.
“Every day I wait, hope and
pray I will get that call to say
they have solved the case. I
know it’s not going to bring my
baby back to me, but at least it
will me some peace of mind.”
Norris left his home after get-
ting a late night phone call, on
Oct. 13, 1999. He was found by
police responding to reports of
gunfire at around 4 a.m. at
Peninsula Park. Norris was
found dead in his car in the 6200
block of North Kirby Avenue.
Davis said every time she
hears a siren or learns about a
shooting, she thinks about the
heartache another family will
have to bear. And she wants the
madness to stop.
Antoinette Edwards, director
of Portland’s Office of Youth
Violence Prevention, said the
killings of Terrence Norris and
Mashia’s son, Leonard Irving
were just two of 53 unsolved
gang homicides.
“That’s unacceptable to me,”
she said, calling on the commu-
nity to reject the idea that
bringing killers to justice is
“snitching.”
“It’s not a police problem; it’s
a
community
problem,”
Edwards said, and reframed the
word snitch as “Somebody
Needs Information That can
Help.”
Also in the room were other
relatives of victims including
Ronisha Harris, sister of Duriel
Harris, shot outside the Fontain-
bleau nightclub in November
2013; and Teressa Raiford, aunt
of Andre Payton, shot outside a
downtown club in September
2010. Both those cases also
See GANG on page 3
Veterans Affairs Audit Finds Long Waits
Nine facilities in Oregon and Washington face federal investigations
Lisa Loving
Of The Skanner News
A
n audit on access to medical care by
the US Department of Veterans
Affairs shows many veterans are
suffering from a lack of timely care, and an
unknown number have likely died while on
the waiting list.
Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki
last month resigned over reports of VA staff
falsifying records to hide the problem,
which is also expected to impact Democrat-
ic candidates seeking re-election.
The audit says that as of May, more than
63,000 veterans over the past 10 years who
are enrolled in the healthcare system have
never had an appointment; almost 58,000
veterans are currently waiting to be sched-
uled for care.
Oregon’s Portland and Roseburg VA cen-
ters posted some of the longest waits for
medical care in the country.
“I am appalled by today’s report that falsi-
fied records forced more than 6,600 Oregon
veterans to endure unconscionable waiting
times to receive the care they’ve earned,”
said Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden. “Those who
See VA on page 3