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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 22, 2015)
REGION Thursday, January 22, 2015 East Oregonian Umatilla man pleads not guilty in triple murder By KRISTIN M. KRAEMER Tri-City Herald Loved ones of an expectant mother killed last summer grasped hands Tues- day as the man accused of pulling the trigger walked into a Kennewick court- room. Francisco J. Resendez Miranda, 23, in Benton County Superior Court for the fatal shootings of two Pasco wom- en and a man. He pleaded not guilty to murder. The bodies of Abigail Torres-Rente- ria, 23, Victoria Torres, 19, and David Perez-Saucedo, 22, were found Aug. 9 on farmland off Nine Canyon Road, Road south of Kennewick. The women were not related. The charges include the aggravat- ing circumstance that Torres-Renteria was almost nine months pregnant when she was killed. Under Washington law, unborn baby. Relatives and friends of all three victims attended the court hearing. Tor- res-Renteria’s loved ones wore black sweatshirts memorializing the woman with her picture. Aggravated murder in Washington carries a sentence of life in prison with- out the possibility of release, or death. Resendez Miranda was appointed two attorneys — Shane Silverthorn of Ellensburg and Michael Iaria of Seattle — because of the possibility the state may seek the death penalty. The trial is set for March 9, though it may be rescheduled because of the com- plexity of the case. Resendez Miranda would have to agree to waive his right to a speedy trial. There has been some confusion with Resendez Miranda’s last name, as jail records and court documents in Oregon and Washington show different spell- ings and variations. His siblings report- edly spell their name as Resendiz. On Tuesday, Silverthorn told Judge Bruce Spanner that his client’s name was correct as it was written on the Ben- ton County charging information. Resendez Miranda was arrested Aug. 10. He was held in the Umatilla County jail until his Oregon charges were resolved and the extradition paper- both states. He was taken to the Benton County jail Friday morning. Resendez Miranda worked with Pe- rez-Saucedo at a Wyckoff Farms prop- erty along the Columbia River in Pater- son. Court documents show the slayings might have been in retaliation for a break-in at Resendez Miranda’s apart- ment the night before. Perez-Saucedo, Torres, Torres-Ren- teria and a fourth person had gone to Umatilla, possibly to a party, late on Aug. 8. A farmworker discovered the three bodies at 5:30 a.m. the next morn- from Resendez Miranda’s apartment. No one else has been charged in con- nection with the triple homicide. late August said Resendez Miranda’s two brothers and father were wanted for questioning in the investigation. Fidel Miranda-Huitron, 51, Eduardo Miranda-Resendiz, 24, and Fernando de Jesus Miranda-Resendiz, 19, all lived in the Umatilla area and are believed to have possibly left the country after the shootings. Resendez Miranda’s extradition war- rant was for $1 million bail. But Pros- ecutor Andy Miller said now that Re- sendez Miranda is in custody and facing aggravated murder, he is not entitled to any bail while awaiting trial. Resendez Miranda also has a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement hold. UMATILLA City extends strip club moratorium By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian Residents of Umatilla opposed to strip clubs won’t have to worry about another one coming to town for at least six months. The city council passed a six-month extension on its moratorium of new adult businesses Tuesday night. Boyd Sharp, chair of the planning commission, told the council the commission needs two or three more the city’s rules on what types of uses are allowed in its commercial zones. He said the commission was asking for six months to make sure the city council had time to hold public hearings after the commission submits its recommendations for ap- proval. “This gives you more time,” he said. In order to avoid legal trouble for targeting adult businesses protected by free speech laws, the com- mission is addressing con- cern over those businesses by creating comprehensive rules for all establishments in the commercial zone. Hundreds of categories of uses are being sorted into those that are allowed out- right, those that are allowed with some restrictions and those that are allowed only if the city grants a conditional use permit. The public hearing on the extension of the moratorium was sparsely attended, with only one comment from the public. John Nichols, a former planning commission mem- ber who resigned after the commission approved a per- mit for what was at the time the city’s third strip club, urged the city council to ex- Staff photo by E.J. Harris Night Moves gentlemen’s club was the third strip club to open in Umatilla. “We can’t change things, we can’t change the culture and we can’t move forward unless we have more participation.” — David Trott, Umatilla mayor tend the moratorium. “Please give them as much time and as much lat- itude as they need to do the job correctly,” he said. City councilor David Lo- ugee, who was on the plan- ning commission before tak- knew how hard the commis- sion was working and want- ed to give them kudos. “I think these are at least baby steps toward an im- proved Umatilla,” he said before the council unani- mously voted to extend the moratorium. Also during the council meeting, City Manager Bob Ward told the council that he did not yet have an agree- ment to settle the ongoing zoning dispute between the city and the Port of Umatilla. He said the “agreement in principle has not changed” but it was taking longer than expected to reach a consen- sus on the wording of cer- tain items. The details of the agreement have not been made public. “I think a settlement is still within reach, we just need to work a little bit hard- er to get there,” Ward said. The council also infor- mally recognized Umatilla School District superinten- dent Heidi Sipe. While the council was conducting its meeting, Sipe was in the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C., attending the president’s State of the Union address as a guest of Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Or- egon). Councilor Mary Dedrick said Sipe deserved some recognition for all of the time and effort she and her husband put into the school district’s robotics program, which is considered one of the best in the state. “I can’t think of a better person to represent Umatil- la,” Dedrick said. Before adjourning the meeting, new mayor David Trott issued a challenge to the city councilors and staff present. He said he was dis- appointed in the attendance at the meeting (only a cou- ple of attendees were not city staff or news media) and urged everyone to invite one Umatilla resident to attend the next city council meet- ing. “We can’t change things, we can’t change the culture and we can’t move forward unless we have more partici- pation,” he said. ——— Contact Jade McDowell at jmcdowell@eastorego- nian.com or 541-564-4536. Two fights lead to three arrests during the weekend Craig threw the female to the ground and struck her with a A Hermiston man landed in jail after he threw another of the head. She suffered swelling and told police she was light headed, but she de- clined to go to the hospital. Two males joined the fracas to get Craig off the female. That’s when Craig pushed one male down 14 steps, knocking him out. The two males also told police they hit Craig, and that could be why he suffered a black Hermiston police Chief Ja- son Edmiston said that was one of three people his of- during the weekend in two Noble Allen Clinton Craig, 19, of Hermiston, fac- es charges of fourth-degree assault, a misdemeanor, and third-degree assault, a felony, little after 10 p.m. responded to the Best Western Hotel, 2255 S. Highway 395, Herm- with injuries. Edmiston said Craig fought with a female, and both claim the other the police report, determined on Craig because he was the primary aggressor. Craig is no longer in the Umatilla County Jail, Pend- leton. Hermiston police arrested two more people a few hours Edmiston said police Sun- day at about 1:50 a.m. found Angelo Vince Corpus Jr., 19, and Angelina Regina Cor- pus, 21, both of Hermiston, PARK: King hopes project will be done by end of the year Continued from 1A As a part of their deal - mittee will have to pay an archaeologist $600 per day to be on site for the duration of the excavation. If hu- man remains or an histor- ical object is found during the excavation, work crews ground without completing the project. That scenario would also waste the city’s money, as Parks and Rec- reation Department staff will be used for labor and equipment. The committee’s Plan B is a separate site on the park’s north side, which is outside the boundaries of the cemetery. King said the back-up site is less ideal because the area is more congested and would re- quire a smaller shelter. She said the proposed west side shelter would resemble picnic shelters at Community Park and Ki- wanis Park. In the end, the risks weren’t enough to deter the council from unanimously approving the shelter on the west side of the park. King said she hopes the project will see completion by the end of the year. Other topics discussed during the meeting includ- ed: • The city approved spending $58,000 to em- ploy a new utility for meter reading purposes. According to a report from Public Works Direc- tor Bob Patterson, the city previously outsourced me- ter reading services to Me- tereaders LLC of Portland. After the Metereaders employee serving Pend- leton left the company, a representative told the city that Metereaders would no longer service Pendleton because the city was con- sidering switching to an automated meter reading system. Staff also requested $20,000 for new meter reading equipment that will be required if the city transitions to an automated service. Besides equipment costs, the new employ- ee will have a net cost of $1,700 due to the city no longer contracting with Metereaders. The council approved the expenditures 6-1 with Councilman Tom Young voting against it and Coun- cilwoman Becky Marks absent. Young said he could hire several employees for the cost of hiring the new meter reader. • The council unani- mously approved annexing the 13 acres that comprise the Pendleton Sanitary Service facility. The annexation was a part of a deal made in October to change the ser- vice’s franchise fee rate. The estimated $18,000 in property taxes the city will receive from the service will help offset $70,000 Pendleton loses from re- structuring the fee. • Pendleton, Adams, Pilot Rock and Umatilla County could join forces to bring in a grant to help homeowners restore their houses. The council unanimous- ly approved an intergov- ernmental agreement with those entities to jointly ap- ply for a $400,000 grant. In Round-Up City, that grant money would go toward the city’s Restore Pendleton program, which helps low income home- owners repair their dwell- ings. • Municipal Court Judge Jeff Wallace’s contract was unanimously renewed by the city council. According to his con- tract, Wallace makes $27,900 per year. - cant changes to the Pend- leton Convention Center Commission, the council appointed seven new mem- bers to the restructured ad- visory committee. The council appoint- ed Susan Bower from the Pendleton Chamber of Commerce Board of Di- rectors, Tim Hawkins from the Round-Up Association Board of Directors, J.J. Spriet from Happy Canyon Co., Pat Beard from Travel Pendleton and Councilman Neil Brown. The commission’s two at-large positions went to individuals from the business community — Virgil’s at Cimmiyotti’s owner Jennifer Keeton and Knights Inn owner Surya Das. Due to poor attendance, the council dramatically restructured the commis- sion in August, cutting the number of positions from 11 to seven. Mayor Phillip Houk has previously said he will direct the commis- sion to seek out larger con- ventions to accommodate the $897,000 east side ex- pansion to the center. Two new members were also appointed to the City Bond Advisory Com- mittee. McCormack Construc- tion Co. Vice President Ty- son Furstenburg and F & H Computers owner Alan Feves were both appoint- ed. With the city aiming to put a bond issue on the No- vember ballot, Houk said more appointees would come in the future. The council appoint- ed Jackie Engur to take Furstenburg’s spot on the Planning Commission. Her application states she spent the past 10 years working for the planning and licens- ing department of the Lon- don borough of Camden in the United Kingdom. ——— Contact Antonio Sierra at asierra@eastoregonian. com or 541-966-0836. SUBMIT COMMUNITY NEWS HERMISTON By PHIL WRIGHT East Oregonian Page 3A were part of a larger group that assaulted three people at the Midway Tavern, 1750 N. First St., Hermiston. After the assault occurred, the victims remained on scene, and police caught An- gelo and Angelina Corpus on Northeast Second Street and East Oregon Avenue. A wit- - miston reported, and police booked them into the Umatil- la County Jail, on one count each of third-degree assault. Edmiston said the felony oc- curs when one assailant aids another in the attack. Edmis- Angelo Corpus for carrying a concealed weapon — “a spring-assisted knife in his right front pocket.” Angelina Corpus and Angelo Corpus are related, and detec- tives Tuesday picked up vid- eo footage from the tavern. The Hermiston police chief also credited the Midway for doing a good job of policing problems, particularly inside the establishment, but this in- cident took place outside. All You Can Eat Seafood Feast! February 7 • 6:00 pm • $30.00 Proceeds to benefit Pendleton Elks’ Scholarship Program Pendleton Elks Lodge #288 14 SE 3rd, Pendleton 541-969-2765 • 541-276-3882 Submit information to: community@eastoregonian. com or drop off to the attention of Tammy Malgesini at 333 E. Main St., Hermiston or Renee Struthers at 211 S.E. Byers Ave., Pendleton. Call 541-564-4539 or 541- 966-0818 with questions. Join us Superbowl Sunday! February 1 st in our Lounge Food & Beverage Specials Lounge opens at 1:30 pm 3 0 4 S E N y e Av e . , P e n d l e t o n , O R redlion.com • 541-276-6111 Don't forget we're open for lunch daily 11:00 am - 1:00 pm
