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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (April 13, 2019)
WEEKEND EDITION McKAY CREEK FLOODS CITY PARK HERMISTON SWEEPS SOFTBALL DOUBLEHEADER PENDLETON FILMMAKERS GET FIRST AMATEUR AWARD REGION, A3 SPORTS, B1 LIFESTYLES, C1 E O AST 143rd Year, No. 128 REGONIAN APRIL 13-14, 2019 $1.50 WINNER OF THE 2018 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD HERMISTON LET’ER BID! Second suspect faces murder in 2018 slaying Round-Up and Happy Canyon host fi rst wagon auction By PHIL WRIGHT East Oregonian A second Hermiston man is on the hook for the 2018 shooting death of Erik Navarrete. Vincent Wesley David Shermantine, 29, faced charges Friday afternoon of mur- der, fi rst-degree robbery, felon in pos- session of a fi rearm and unlawful use of a weapon. District Attorney Dan Primus said Shermantine’s arraignment was Fri- day at 1:15 p.m. in Hermiston. According to the indictment, Shermantine and co-defendant David Edgar Sommerville, 19, also of Hermiston, robbed Navarrete at gunpoint on June 4, 2018, and Som- merville in the course of the crime shot and killed Shermantine Navarrete. Hermiston police on Thursday identi- fi ed Sommerville as a suspect. Sherman- tine and Sommerville have been in the jail since late March on charges unrelated to the homicide. Hermiston Police Chief Jason Edmiston said investigators identi- fi ed the pair as suspects before the arrests but had to wait for the analysis of some evi- dence. He also said “there is a family rela- tion” between Shermantine and Navarrete. Sommerville faces charges of fi rst-de- gree robbery, unlawful use of a weapon, murder and aggravated murder in Navar- rete’s death. Aggravated murder is the only crime in Oregon that carries the threat of the death penalty. The governor’s offi ce in 2011 placed a moratorium on executions, but district attorneys sill have to consider capital pun- ishment. Umatilla County has not had an aggravated murder case since 2015. The seriousness of the charge requires lawyers with the expertise to handle death penalty cases. The court appointed two Portland-area lawyers to represent Sommerville: Ben- jamin Kim and Steve Lindsey. They defended Edwin Lara, 31, who in January 2018 pleaded guilty to aggravated murder for the 2016 killing of 23-year-old Kaylee Sawyer of Bend. Lara is serving a life sentence at Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution, Pendleton. Sommerville’s attorneys fi led a request for the court to order the district attorney’s offi ce to allow inspections of evidence and provide copies of police reports, record- ings, photographs and more. Primus said his offi ce has set a meeting with Kim and Lindsey. Staff photo by E.J. Harris Carl Hemphill, of Terrebonne, looks at wagons up for auction at the Westward Ho! Wagon and Western Memorabilia Auction on Friday in Pendleton. By ANTONIO SIERRA East Oregonian W estward Ho! has gone from the streets of Pend- leton to the auction block. Following decades of entertaining crowds each Friday of Round-Up week, Round-Up and Happy Can- yon lent the Westward Ho! name to an auction where bidders could purchase wag- ons similar to the ones they see in the non-motorized parade. The Westward Ho! Wagon and Western Mem- orabilia Auction started its inaugural event at the Pend- leton Convention Center and Happy Canyon Arena Friday. The auction originated from the minds of Randy and Vickie Leonard, a hus- band-wife pair of teamsters who help lead the Round-Up Staff photo by E.J. Harris Buyers look at a table of fi rearms up for auction at the West- ward Ho! Wagon and Western Memorabilia Auction on Fri- day in Pendleton. Wagon Train each year through the Blue Mountains. Randy, a former Round-Up parades direc- tor, said he and Vickie used to attend wagon auctions across the state. But the number of auc- tions has been shrinking in recent years, he said, making the couple think it would be a good idea to start a wagon auction in Pendleton. The Leonards got Happy Canyon and the Round-Up on board, the organizations seeing it as an extension of their commitment to pre- serving Western heritage. The result became a two- day auction with 40-50 wag- ons for sale and hundreds of other pieces of horse-drawn farm equipment, equine gear, and various Western items. The items sold at the auction were sourced from consigners from across the western United States and included a stagecoach and a chuckwagon. Other big ticket items included a Happy Canyon centennial rifl e and a Happy Canyon centennial bronze. Although the wagons were available for viewing in the Happy Canyon arena, they weren’t going to be auc- tioned off until Saturday, meaning most of the action on Friday was happening in the Pendleton Convention Center. See Auction, Page A10 Brown releases plan to offset rising school pension costs By SARAH ZIMMERMAN Associated Press SALEM — Oregon Gov. Kate Brown unveiled a plan on Friday to pay down rising debt from the state’s public pension costs, which have ballooned past $26 billion. The proposal expects to bring MORE INSIDE Local schools at the forefront of PERS crisis Page A3 in $3.3 billion over the next 16 years and is meant to insulate Oregon schools from the brunt of rising rate hikes affecting the state’s public employees. Whether lawmakers will approve the plan is another ques- tion, as many of the core tenets of the governor’s proposal are politically unpalatable. Among other things, the governor calls for teachers to pay more into their pension fund and proposes siphoning money from a popu- lar income tax rebate program unique to Oregon. “I know this is very diffi cult. There’s something for every- one to both love and hate in this plan that I’ve introduced,” she See Pensions, Page A10 Brown CHI St. Anthony Hospital Family Clinic is recognized as a Patient -Centered Primary Care Home. What does that mean for you? • Better-coordinated care. • Healthcare providers who will help connect you • Listening to your concerns and answering with the care you need in a safe and timely way. questions. • Healthcare providers who play an active role in your health. • After-hours nurse consultation. 844.724.8632 3001 St. Anthony Way, Pendleton WWW.SAHPENDLETON.ORG Mon through Thurs, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. • Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sat and Sun, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Walk-ins are welcome but appointments are preferred.
