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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (March 23, 2016)
Page 8A OFF PAGE ONE East Oregonian Man charged with taking former Hermiston chief’s lottery winnings By ANNETTE CARY Tri-City Herald A Spokane man has pleaded not guilty to wire fraud after being accused of persuading the widow of a former Hermiston police chief to give him $1 million in lottery winnings for a short-term investment with a big payoff. The widow of former Hermiston Police Chief Andy Anderson has been trying for ¿ve years to get most of her money back, according to federal court documents. Donna Anderson bought the winning ticket for the $18.2 million jackpot, then the third-largest prize in Oregon Megabucks history, in 2003. In 2011 she wanted to take money she had invested with Merrill Lynch in Kennewick and invest it elsewhere to increase earnings, according to court documents. The former chief, who retired in 2001, had died of cancer in 2008. A friend of one of the couple’s 10 children and stepchildren recommended that she work with Scott K. Brett of Spokane to invest what court documents referred to as her “remaining lottery winnings.” The Spokesman Review reports that Brett previously was the chief executive of a ¿rm called CoreTech that sought government loans for a “green” of¿ce park that never materialized in a suburb of Nashville, Tenn. In a conference call during the ¿rst week of )ebruary 2011, Brett told her and one of her sons that she could put money in an escrow account that would be used to leverage other investments, according to court documents. He sent an agreement that said under the “system” a $1 million investment would grow to $2 million within two weeks. Then she could remove $1 million would no longer have money at risk. The investment would continue to double over two week periods to reach $8 million, at which time the system would close. The agreement also said that if the ¿rst implementation of the system was not completed within 30 days, Brett would return her $1 million, according to court documents. Anderson withdrew $1 million from Merrill Lynch in Kennewick and trans- ferred it by wire to a Utah bank account in )ebruary 2011. Money was withdrawn from the account and given to various people and to bank accounts held by Brett, rather than invested for Donna Anderson’s bene¿t, according to court docu- ments. At the end of the month, Donna Anderson and her son wanted to invest in another deal and asked for $130,000 back, which Brett sent. Shortly after that she asked for all of her money back. She received $10,000 on June 27 and $5,000 on July 21, plus other payments of less than $1,000. Brett continued to give her false hope that she would get the remaining $855,000 returned, according to court documents. If found guilty of wire fraud, Brett could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison. His attorney, Roger Peven of Spokane declined to comment on the case. According to a press release earlier this year from the Oregon Department of Revenue, Donna Anderson owes $335,385 to the state in back taxes. SHOOTING: Police found 27 .40 caliber shell casings near the scene Continued from 1A Umatilla tribal police Sgt. Rowen Hayes heard gunshots at 5:51 a.m. Saturday near a housing development on the reserva- tion. Tribal dispatch directed Hayes and others police to 43 Willow Drive, the home of Welch. Welch and Jimenez were lying in the driveway. Welch had a “severe gunshot wound to his lower left leg, right above the ankle,” the document states. Bone fragments the size of marbles littered the ground. Medical staff worried Welch could lose the leg. An air ambulance took Jimenez to Kadlec Regional Medical Center, Richland, Washington, where he died from his wounds, according to the af¿davit, and an ambulance took Welch to St. Anthony Hospital, Pend- leton, where he had surgery Monday. More tribal police arrived and searched for witnesses. One person said someone ran behind a house and splashed into a nearby pond. Of¿cers checked and saw Contreras, who ran, but the cops caught him after a short chase. Thompson and tribal detective Anthony Barnett on Sunday questioned Welch, who said he was hosting a party at his home. Two groups, probably rival gang members, had an altercation. Welch became concerned, ended the party and kicked everyone out. But Contreras refused to go and had words with Welch. Jimenez stepped in and helped Welch escort Contreras and his friends from the house. Contreras and his friend argued with Welch and Jimenez in the driveway. Welch looked away for a second and heard Jimenez yell, “He’s got a heater.” Welch turned, saw Contreras with a gun pointed at him, saw the muzzle Àash and heard gunshots. Police would ¿nd 27 .40 caliber shell casings in the area of the shooting. Welch dropped and crawled under a pickup for cover. He saw Jimenez down, blood coming from his head. Welch described Contreras and pointed him out in a photographic lineup Thompson made. )BI special agent Chad Lapp and Umatilla County sheriff’s detective Erik Palmer that Sunday inter- viewed a witness who was at the party. He said the two groups had several small arguments, and that esca- lated, so he and his girlfriend left. Outside, he said he heard “gang related statements,” looked through a carport and saw Contreras holding a small black handgun in his right hand at his side. Moments later, the witness said, he heard gun¿re. )ederal agents took Contreras on Monday from the Umatilla County Jail, Pendleton, for an appearance in federal court in Portland. Thompson reported Contreras “perked up” during the ride when he heard a news story on the radio about the shooting. He claimed his friend shot ¿rst, so he pulled his pistol but only shot at the house. He admitted he bought the Glock Model 22, .40 caliber pistol about a month ago, even though that was against the law. Contreras has a 2012 felony conviction in Idaho for delivering drugs. The Oregon U.S. Attorneys Of¿ce charged Contreras with the following: assault with intent to commit murder; assault with a dangerous weapon with intent to do bodily harm; assault resulting in serious bodily injury; possession of a ¿rearm in furtherance of a crime of violence; and felon in possession of a ¿rearm. Conviction on all counts could send Contreras to federal prison for more than 50 years. Thompson states in the af¿davit Contreras shot and killed Jimenez, but all the charges relate only to Welch, a member of the Confeder- ated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. Thompson also states Welch still could lose his leg. ——— Contact Phil Wright at pwright@eastoregonian. com or 541-966-0833. TRAINING: Hopes to send of¿cers into local business for on-site training this summer Continued from 1A CRASE teaches people how to stay safe until law enforcement arrives through a mantra of “Avoid. Deny. Defend,” which involves avoiding a shooter and evac- uating if possible, denying the shooter access to victims by barricades or locked doors and, as a last resort, defending against the shooter if it comes to a face-to-face confrontation. “I think it’s valuable to give them a little information of what to do should an event take place,” Edmiston said. “Statistics show that little things like impeding someone’s thought process can make a huge difference.” This summer, Edmiston hopes to send of¿cers into local businesses for on-site training so employees know how to react to an aggressive person — shooter or not — in the time between when police are called and of¿cers arrive. “Our plan is really to open it up to anyone who wants that training, go out there and offer it in their place of business,” Edmiston said. “It’s not a fun subject when you think about it, but it is necessary.” Edmiston said before shootings like the one at Columbine High School in 1999 where 13 people were killed, law enforcement was trained to wait for specialized responders. But in many cases, including Columbine, as law enforce- ment waited for backup, people died. That shooting led to a change in thinking for law enforcement, and Hermiston police of¿cers are trained in both CRASE and ALICE — Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate — response programs. While the department has worked with ALICE for a longer period of time, they started “It’s not a fun subject when you think about it, but it is necessary.” — Jason Edmiston, Hermiston police chief with CRASE in 2015. Last week, Hermiston police trained Umatilla of¿- cers in the CRASE program; in June, of¿cers will train Hermiston school staff. “We’re not promoting violence, but we’re promoting people protecting and defending themselves,” Edmiston said. If anyone is interested in scheduling a training with the Hermiston Police and CRASE, contact Capt. Eynon at 541-667-5103. ——— Contact Jennifer Colton at jcolton@eastoregonian. com or 541-564-4534. SUBMIT COMMUNITY NEWS 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., Pendle- ton. Call 541-564-4539 or 541-966-0818 with questions. Wednesday, March 23, 2016 WORLD BRIEFLY Clinton, Trump add to leads with Arizona victories WASHINGTON (AP) — Under a fresh cloud of overseas violence, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton added to their delegate troves on Tuesday with victories in Arizona as the 2016 presidential contest turned into a clash of would-be commanders in chief. Long lines and high interest marked primary elections across Arizona, Utah and Idaho that were largely an afterthought for much of the day as the world grappled with a new wave of bloody attacks in Europe. Yet there was a frenzy of activity in Utah as voters lined up to caucus and the state Democratic Party’s website crashed due to high traf¿c. In Arizona, voters waited two hours to cast primary ballots in some cases, while police were called to help with traf¿c control and at least one polling place ran out of ballots. Trump and Clinton both enjoyed overwhelming delegate leads heading into Tuesday’s contests. Trump’s Arizona victory gives him the all of the state’s 58 delegates, a setback for his underdog challengers. On the Democratic side, Arizona’s delegates are awarded proportionally. Results from Utah were not available by press time. FBI might hack into an iPhone without Apple’s help NEW YORK (AP) — )or more than a month, federal investigators have insisted they have no alternative but to force Apple to help them open up a phone used by one of the San Bernardino shooters. That changed Monday when the Justice Department said an “outside party” recently showed the )BI a different way to access the data on the phone used by Syed )arook, who with his wife killed 14 people in the Dec. 2 attack. The magistrate judge in the case postponed a hearing scheduled for Tuesday and gave the government two weeks to test its method. But federal of¿cials have been mum about who came forward and what method they’ve proposed. Here are some of the leading options outside experts think the )BI might be exploring. Cruz and Trump: Boost surveillance of Muslims NEW YORK (AP) — Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz said Tuesday that surveillance in Muslim neighborhoods in the U.S. must be intensi¿ed following the deadly bombings at Brussels, while rival Donald Trump suggested torturing a suspect in last year’s Paris attacks would have prevented the carnage. Echoing Trump’s earlier statements, Cruz said the U.S. should stop the Àow of refugees from countries where the Islamic State militant group has a signi¿cant presence. The Islamic State took credit for the attacks at the Brussels airport and a subway station that killed dozens Tuesday and wounded many more. “We need to empower law enforcement to patrol and secure Muslim neighborhoods before they become radicalized,” the Texas senator said in a statement. Trump praised Cruz’s plan as a “good idea” that he supports “100 percent” in an interview with CNN. The GOP front-runner also intensi¿ed his past calls for the U.S. to engage in harsher interrogation techniques, arguing that Belgium could have prevented the bombings had it tortured a suspect in last year’s Paris attacks who was arrested last week. “Well, you know, he may be talking, but he’ll talk a lot faster with the torture. ... Because he probably knew about it. I would be willing to bet that he knew about this bombing that took place today,” Trump said. FDA adds boldest warning to most widely used painkillers WASHINGTON (AP) — )ederal health regulators will add their strongest warning labels to the most widely prescribed painkillers, part of a multi-pronged government campaign to stem an epidemic of abuse and death tied to drugs like Vicodin and Percocet. The )ood and Drug Administration announced Tuesday plans to add a boxed warning — the most serious type — to all immediate-release opioid painkillers, including some 175 branded and generic drugs. Those medications, which often combine oxycodone with lower-grade medications, are among the most commonly used drugs in the U.S. and account for 90 percent of all opioid painkillers prescribed. Roughly three years ago the )DA added similar warnings to long-acting opioid drugs like OxyContin, which slowly release their doses over 12 hours or more. Now both immediate and extended-release formulations will highlight the risks of addiction, abuse, overdose and death. The long-awaited changes come as federal and state of¿cials struggle to curb a wave of overdoses fueled by the overprescribing of medications and a steady supply of cheap heroin. “We’re at a time when the unfathomable tragedies resulting from addiction, overdose and death have become one of the most urgent and devastating public health crises facing our country,” )DA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf said on a call with reporters. “I can’t stress enough how critical it is for prescribers to have the most current information.” In Cuba, Obama calls for burying ‘last remnant’ of Cold War HAVANA (AP) — Capping his remarkable visit to Cuba, President Barack Obama on Tuesday declared an end to the “last remnant of the Cold War in the Americas” and openly urged the Cuban people to pursue a more democratic future for this communist nation 90 miles from the )lorida coast. With Cuban President Raul Castro watching from a balcony, Obama said the government should not fear citizens who speak freely and vote for their own leaders. And with Cubans watching on tightly controlled state television, Obama said they would be the ones to determine their country’s future, not the United States. “Many suggested that I come here and ask the people of Cuba to tear something down,” Obama said. “But I’m appealing to the young people of Cuba who will lift something up, build something new.” On the streets of Havana, the president’s address sparked extraordinarily rare public discussions about democracy, and some anger with Cuba’s leaders. Cubans are used to complaining bitterly about economic matters but rarely speak publicly about any desire for political change, particularly in conversations with foreign journalists. Juan )rancisco Ugarte, Oliva, a 71-year-old retired refrigeration technician, said the American president “dared to say in the presence of the leaders, of Raul Castro, that (Cubans) had the right to protest peacefully without being beaten or arrested.” McKay Creek Estates Celebrate Life At Prestige Senior Living, we believe life should be a celebration! Studies have shown that up to 70% of what you feel is aging, is optional. The key to active, successful aging is your lifestyle. It is about wellness and nurturing body, mind and spirit. Join us for one of our complimentary educational seminars that promote healthy, fulfilled living, at every age. SATURDAY, APRIL 2, 1:00 P.M. – 3:00 P.M. Paint and Sip Presented by Katie Woodford, The Cabernet Canvas Get in touch with your inner Monet. No painting experience is necessary for this session, and all of the paints, brushes, canvas and techniques will be provided. We will provide the drinks for you to sip while you paint. No cost to residents, $30/person for outside guests. RSVP required for this event, seating is limited. Space is limited for this FUN educational series. For more information and to reserve your seat please call (541) 276-1987. McKay Creek Estates 1601 Southgate Place Pendleton, Oregon 97801