NORTHWEST
East Oregonian
Page 2A
Wednesday, December 28, 2016
Trooper in
Cop guilty in wife’s death
serving time at women’s prison second surgery
female. Lynne Irene Benton,
his birth name, is listed as his
alias. When Benton was held
in Multnomah County jail
pending trial, he was housed
with male inmates.
Only one of Benton’s three
trial attorneys responded to
requests for comment. Laurie
Bender said she didn’t know
about his prison designation
but noted she also hadn’t been
in contact with Benton since he
was sentenced.
Bender said she didn’t know
what to make of Benton’s place-
ment because she didn’t know
what factors were considered.
“But I do know that legally,
he is a man,” Bender said.
Six
inmates
assigned
housing at Coffee Creek are
transgender, said Betty Bernt, a
state department of corrections
spokeswoman. It is not clear
if Benton is considered in that
tally and it is not clear how
many have transitioned from
female to male.
Bernt said she wasn’t aware
All male and female inmates
initially go to Coffee Creek for
their intake into the state prison
system. Male inmates remain
there until they are assigned
to another prison facility for
housing. Coffee Creek is the
state’s only prison for women.
After Benton arrived at
Coffee Creek for his intake
process,
Reynolds
said,
Benton’s placement would
likely have been decided by the
Oregon Department of Correc-
tions’ nonconforming gender
review committee.
The committee includes
officials from health services
and other areas who assess an
inmate’s vulnerability, security
classification, mental health,
medical needs and “program-
ming needs,” Reynolds said.
They then make recommen-
dations on where inmates are
placed.
The state corrections depart-
ment’s online inmate database
identifies the former cop as
Lynn Edward Benton and
By EVERTON BAILEY
The Oregonian/OregonLive
PORTLAND — A former
Gladstone cop sentenced to
life in prison without parole in
the death of his wife has been
permanently assigned to the
state’s prison for women —
despite identifying as a man,
with legal recognition, for the
past six years.
Lynn Edward Benton is
housed in a general population
mental health unit at the Coffee
Creek Correctional Institution,
said Vicki Reynolds, a prison
spokeswoman. The unit is for
inmates with a mental illness
who need treatment or inmates
who need “easier access to a
behavioral health counselor.”
Reynolds told The Orego-
nian/OregonLive that she
wasn’t aware of what factors led
to Benton, 54, being assigned
to Coffee Creek and said she
didn’t believe she could disclose
any detailed information citing
potential privacy violations.
after shooting;
still critical
of Benton’s case and also said
she didn’t believe she could
disclose what went into the
prison’s placement decision.
She cited the agency’s public
information that lists Benton as
a woman.
Benton, who was a police
officer in Gladstone for more
than two decades, underwent
female-to-male gender reas-
signment, legally changed his
name and married his wife in
2010.
A Clackamas County jury
found Benton guilty in October
of aggravated murder, criminal
conspiracy to commit aggra-
vated murder and attempted
murder in the death of Debbie
Higbee Benton. The beauty
salon owner was found shot,
beaten and strangled in a storage
room in her shop in May 2011.
Gladstone’s police depart-
ment fired Benton in December
2011 after an internal investi-
gation concluded he violated
policy by having pornography
on his work laptop.
PORTLAND (AP) — An Oregon State Police
trooper wounded in a Christmas night gun battle
was able to high-five his wife when he woke up
from his first surgery, but he has more operations
to go and a long road ahead to
recover from his life-threat-
ening injuries, authorities said
Tuesday.
Trooper Nic Cederberg, 32,
remained in critical condition
at Oregon Health Sciences
University, where he was
undergoing a second surgery
after the shootout that followed
the discovery of a dead woman,
OSP Capt. Bill Fugate told a Cederberg
news conference.
“We believe his intervention and risking his life
in an unfolding situation on Christmas undoubtedly
saved lives of members of the public and other
police officers,” Fugate said.
The captain declined to say how many times
Cederberg was shot or to more precisely describe
his injuries, citing the family’s wishes. He did
say the officer has been unable to speak since the
shooting but had nonverbally communicated to his
family: “I just did my job.”
The department is optimistic about his recovery,
Fugate said.
Police initially responded to a report of a
shooting late Sunday in King City, where they found
a woman’s body — that of Kate Armand, according
to her family. Police say a 30-year-old suspect,
identified as Armand’s husband, James Tylka, was
seen driving away, and officers pursued him.
The chase ended with a shootout about 20 miles
south of Portland. Tylka was killed.
“He wasn’t the only hero on Christmas night,”
Fugate said. “The other troopers who rushed to his
aid are also heroes. They absolutely risked their
lives to end the incident and assist Trooper Ceder-
berg.”
Fugate declined to release more information
about the shootout, which is the subject of an inves-
tigation.
Some details have emerged about Tylka’s prob-
lems at home.
He was in a protracted dispute with his former
wife, Sabrina Starks, over custody of their son and
child support payments, according to court records.
Starks wrote that they agreed to joint custody in
May but he had been acting irrationally, impulsively
and aggressively, constantly pressuring the boy for
updates about what she was doing.
Court records indicate that Tylka and Armand
had a baby girl.
BRIEFLY
Herd of 41 elk die after
falling through ice
RICHLAND (AP) — Officials say
an elk herd has died after the animals
fell through the ice at a reservoir in east
Oregon.
The Oregon Department of Fish and
Wildlife said in a Facebook post that 41
elk died Tuesday on the Powder River arm
of Brownlee Reservoir.
The Baker City Herald reports someone
who lives near the reservoir called to
report the incident. Oregon Department of
Fish and Wildlife Biologist Brian Ratliff
told the newspaper the elk were trying
to cross the reservoir from the north side
when the ice broke in four places.
Officials drove to the area to see if
it was possible to save any of the elk or
salvage meat, but Ratliff said neither
option was possible.
The reservoir is about 40 miles east of
Baker City.
Three dead, others injured
in multi-car crash
WARM SPRINGS (AP) — Three
people have died in a multi-vehicle crash
on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation.
Oregon State Police Lt. Cari Boyd says
a car traveling west on U.S. Highway 26
struck the back of another vehicle, sending
it into the eastbound lane, where it collided
with a van.
Two people in the vehicle pushed
into the van’s path died at the scene
Monday: 37-year-old Adam Clausen and
39-year-old Shannon O’Leary, both of
Portland. A 4-year-old child in that vehicle
survived with minor injuries.
The van driver heading east also
died at the scene. Boyd identified him
as 34-year-old Robert Burke of Reno,
Nevada. His two passengers, one of whom
is a 22-month-old child, were taken to a
Bend hospital for treatment of injuries not
considered life-threatening.
Officer violated rules before
doughnut shop crash
BEND (AP) — An Oregon State
Police investigation has found that a police
corporal in central Oregon violated depart-
ment policy by illegally running a red light
before striking a truck, a pedestrian and a
doughnut shop earlier this year.
The Bulletin reports that Bend Police
Chief Jim Porter says the state police
investigation shows Cpl. Robert Emerson
violated both department policy and state
law, but that the crash was one mistake in
an otherwise exemplary career.
Emerson was cited after the March 5
crash and paid a $260 fine. Oregon State
Police say Emerson collided with a pickup
truck, slid across an intersection, hit a
pedestrian and smashed into the Dough
Nut. No shop employees or customers
were injured. Both Emerson and the
pedestrian were taken to the hospital with
non-life-threatening injuries.
Autopsy conducted on driver
killed by Bend police
BEND (AP) — An autopsy has been
conducted on the man who was shot and
killed by Bend police during a traffic stop
last week.
Deschutes County District Attorney
John Hummel has yet to provide
information on the results. He said
interviews with witnesses are continuing,
and more details will likely be released
next week.
Police have said the 31-year-old man,
Michael Jacques, was resisting arrest when
the shooting occurred Friday night.
A witness provided a brief cell phone
video to KTVZ. The video taken from
a distance at night doesn’t clarify what
happened, but a faint pop can be heard,
followed by four or five loud gunshots as
the minivan lurches forward.
Police have yet to say if Jacques was
armed or what led to the use of deadly
force.
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and Dec. 25, by the EO Media Group, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801.
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Copyright © 2016, EO Media Group
REGIONAL CITIES
Forecast
TODAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
A bit of snow in
the morning
Times of clouds
and sun
Cloudy
40° 28°
40° 30°
Mostly sunny and
chilly
Mostly cloudy with
a little snow
PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
37° 23°
38° 28°
33° 21°
HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
37° 30°
41° 26°
PENDLETON
through 3 p.m. yesterday
TEMPERATURE
HIGH
LOW
44°
39°
63° (1980)
31°
25°
6° (1924)
PRECIPITATION
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Last year to date
Normal year to date
0.02"
2.12"
1.39"
13.42"
10.07"
12.90"
HERMISTON
through 3 p.m. yesterday
TEMPERATURE
HIGH
Yesterday
Normals
Records
LOW
45°
39°
63° (1955)
33°
27°
6° (1983)
PRECIPITATION
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Last year to date
Normal year to date
Trace
1.23"
1.28"
9.13"
7.16"
9.78"
SUN AND MOON
Sunrise today
Sunset tonight
Moonrise today
Moonset today
New
First
Dec 28
Jan 5
Full
Jan 12
39° 29°
36° 24°
Seattle
45/38
ALMANAC
Yesterday
Normals
Records
41° 24°
7:35 a.m.
4:19 p.m.
6:46 a.m.
4:20 p.m.
Last
Jan 19
Today
SUNDAY
Spokane
Wenatchee
31/21
32/23
Tacoma
Moses
45/34
Lake
Pullman
Aberdeen Olympia
Yakima 36/24
31/23
45/39
43/35
38/21
Longview
Kennewick Walla Walla
43/37
39/28 Lewiston
42/27
Astoria
36/24
47/40
Portland
Enterprise
Hermiston
46/33
Pendleton 28/15
The Dalles 41/26
40/28
40/26
La Grande
Salem
32/23
46/31
Albany
Corvallis 45/31
45/32
John Day
35/23
Ontario
Eugene
Bend
24/9
45/31
36/22
Caldwell
Burns
26/11
27/4
Astoria
Baker City
Bend
Brookings
Burns
Enterprise
Eugene
Heppner
Hermiston
John Day
Klamath Falls
La Grande
Meacham
Medford
Newport
North Bend
Ontario
Pasco
Pendleton
Portland
Redmond
Salem
Spokane
Ukiah
Vancouver
Walla Walla
Yakima
Hi
47
21
36
51
27
28
45
37
41
35
33
32
31
44
47
52
24
43
40
46
37
46
31
32
44
39
38
Lo
40
8
22
37
4
15
31
26
26
23
16
23
22
29
37
36
9
23
28
33
17
31
21
20
34
28
21
W
c
pc
pc
c
pc
sn
c
pc
pc
c
c
c
pc
pc
c
pc
c
pc
pc
c
pc
c
c
c
c
pc
pc
Hi
49
20
39
53
25
30
45
38
37
38
38
32
32
47
49
52
19
39
40
46
41
44
33
36
44
38
35
Today
Beijing
Hong Kong
Jerusalem
London
Mexico City
Moscow
Paris
Rome
Seoul
Sydney
Tokyo
Lo
12
55
40
34
47
24
28
36
21
73
39
W
s
c
pc
s
s
c
pc
s
s
pc
s
Lo
40
6
22
39
2
21
32
28
30
23
18
23
23
29
39
37
8
25
30
36
19
35
27
22
36
30
21
W
r
c
pc
s
pc
c
pc
c
c
pc
s
c
c
s
pc
pc
c
c
c
r
pc
c
c
c
r
c
c
Lo
12
58
42
35
49
19
27
32
16
75
40
W
s
c
pc
pc
s
c
pc
s
s
pc
pc
WINDS
Medford
44/29
(in mph)
Klamath Falls
33/16
Boardman
Pendleton
REGIONAL FORECAST
Coastal Oregon: Times of clouds and sun
today. A passing shower across the north
tonight.
Eastern and Central Oregon: Mostly cloudy
today; cold in the upper Treasure Valley.
Colder in the south tonight.
Western Washington: Mostly cloudy today;
patchy morning fog across the south. A little
rain tonight.
Eastern Washington: Mostly cloudy today.
Today
Thursday
SW 4-8
SSW 6-12
SW 3-6
SSE 6-12
UV INDEX TODAY
Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.
0
1
1
1
0
0
8 a.m. 10 a.m. Noon 2 p.m. 4 p.m. 6 p.m.
Cascades: Mostly cloudy today; a couple of
morning snow showers across the north.
Northern California: Clouds and sun today.
Mostly clear tonight. Plenty of sunshine
tomorrow.
COMMERCIAL PRINTING
Production Manager: Mike Jensen
541-215-0824 • mjensen@eastoregonian.com
Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.
Thu.
Hi
35
64
52
47
73
25
43
53
31
94
55
NEWS
• To submit news tips and press releases: • call 541-966-0818 •
fax 541-276-8314 • email news@eastoregonian.com
• To submit community events, calendar items and Your EO News:
email community@eastoregonian.com or call Tammy Malgesini at
541-564-4539 or Renee Struthers in at 541-966-0818.
• To submit engagements, weddings and anniversaries:
email rstruthers@eastoregonian.com or visit www.eastoregonian.
com/community/announcements
• To submit a Letter to the Editor: mail to Managing Editor Daniel
Wattenburger, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801 or email
editor@eastoregonian.com.
• To submit sports or outdoors information or tips:
541-966-0838 • sports@eastoregonian.com
NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY
Thu.
WORLD CITIES
Hi
37
62
51
45
73
30
46
57
33
87
48
Classified & Legal Advertising
1-800-962-2819 or 541-278-2678
classifieds@eastoregonian.com or legals@eastoregonian.com
Advertising Director: Marissa Williams
541-278-2669 • addirector@eastoregonian.com
Advertising Services: Laura Jensen
541-966-0806 • ljensen@eastoregonian.com
Multimedia Consultants:
• Terri Briggs
541-278-2678 • tbriggs@eastoregonian.com
• Elizabeth Freemantle
541-278-2683 • efreemantle@eastoregonian.com
• Jeanne Jewett
541-564-4531 • jjewett@eastoregonian.com
• Chris McClellan
541-966-0827 • cmcclellan@eastoregonian.com
• Stephanie Newsom
541-278-2687 • snewsom@eastoregonian.com
• Dayle Stinson
541-278-2670 • dstinson@eastoregonian.com
• Audra Workman
541-564-4538 • aworkman@eastoregonian.com
Subscriber services:
For home delivery, vacation stops or delivery concerns: 1-800-522-0255
— Founded Oct. 16, 1875 —
Corrections
The East Oregonian works hard to be accurate
and sincerely regrets any errors. If you notice a
mistake in the paper, please call 541-966-0818.
0-2, Low
3-5, Moderate 6-7, High;
8-10, Very High;
11+, Extreme
The higher the AccuWeather.com UV Index™ num-
ber, the greater the need for eye and skin protection.
Forecasts and graphics provided by
AccuWeather, Inc. ©2016
-10s
-0s
showers t-storms
0s
10s
rain
20s
flurries
30s
40s
snow
ice
50s
60s
cold front
70s
80s
90s
100s
warm front stationary front
110s
high
low
National Summary: Snow showers will occur over the northern tier of the Northeast, the
Upper Midwest and interior Northwest today. Rain showers will dampen areas from Florida
to Arkansas and coastal Texas.
Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states)
High 89° in McAllen, Texas
Low -20° in Gunnison, Colo.
NATIONAL CITIES
Today
Albuquerque
Atlanta
Atlantic City
Baltimore
Billings
Birmingham
Boise
Boston
Charleston, SC
Charleston, WV
Chicago
Cleveland
Dallas
Denver
Detroit
El Paso
Fairbanks
Fargo
Honolulu
Houston
Indianapolis
Jacksonville
Kansas City
Las Vegas
Little Rock
Los Angeles
Hi
51
66
46
45
34
65
28
42
70
48
42
39
77
44
37
65
3
32
80
79
46
77
48
55
56
76
Lo
30
58
32
30
16
52
12
29
54
38
29
34
46
21
32
40
-14
24
70
64
31
58
31
41
39
52
W
pc
c
s
s
c
c
pc
s
c
s
pc
c
c
pc
pc
pc
c
sf
s
c
s
c
s
s
r
s
Thur.
Hi
48
59
48
45
31
55
26
41
72
45
35
37
58
44
37
52
9
28
79
66
37
76
44
58
55
76
Lo
29
33
35
31
24
33
8
33
38
30
25
28
37
29
26
38
3
16
68
45
25
37
23
43
30
56
W
pc
r
r
r
pc
pc
pc
sn
sh
sn
c
sf
pc
s
sf
c
sn
sn
c
pc
pc
sh
s
s
pc
pc
Today
Louisville
Memphis
Miami
Milwaukee
Minneapolis
Nashville
New Orleans
New York City
Oklahoma City
Omaha
Philadelphia
Phoenix
Portland, ME
Providence
Raleigh
Rapid City
Reno
Sacramento
St. Louis
Salt Lake City
San Diego
San Francisco
Seattle
Tucson
Washington, DC
Wichita
Hi
52
62
83
40
33
59
76
43
60
46
44
69
38
42
60
33
47
57
53
32
71
58
45
73
48
56
Lo
37
41
66
29
26
40
63
33
33
29
31
50
19
26
40
16
24
33
34
18
51
43
38
50
36
27
W
s
r
pc
pc
pc
r
c
s
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
s
s
pc
pc
s
pc
c
s
s
c
pc
s
s
Thur.
Hi
43
53
83
35
31
51
65
44
51
41
44
74
35
41
61
29
47
58
44
31
73
60
46
74
47
48
Lo
29
33
61
22
20
32
42
34
29
21
32
56
30
31
33
9
24
35
28
20
55
45
37
53
34
23
Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain,
sf-snow flurries, sn-snow, i-ice.
W
pc
pc
pc
sf
sf
pc
c
r
pc
s
r
pc
sn
r
r
s
s
s
s
s
pc
s
r
c
r
s