REGION
Thursday, October 7, 2021
East Oregonian
A3
Police suspect driver of drinking in crash that killed bull rider
By BRYCE DOLE
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — Police suspect
the driver in a Sept. 16 crash that
killed a Pendleton Round-Up bull
rider had been drinking and was
driving recklessly, according to
court documents and Oregon State
Police Sgt. Seth Cooney.
A search warrant affida-
vit issued Sept. 22 shows police
sought evidence of second-degree
manslaughter, driving under the
infl uence of intoxicants, reckless
driving, third-degree assault and
recklessly endangering another
person in relation to the crash near
Echo.
Jate Frost, 20, a bull rider from
Randlett, Utah, who competed at
the Round-Up, was the driver of
the Volkswagen Jetta, according
to police and documents. Richard
Schleicher, 24, of Stockton, Kansas,
died in the crash. Frost and another
passenger, Jesse Hopper, 21, of
Magnum, Oklahoma, were hurt.
Cooney said police have yet to
obtain medical records indicating
whether Frost had been drinking,
but said “at this point, we have
reason to believe he had been
consuming alcohol” prior to the
incident. Cooney also said police
are awaiting records for possible
vehicle malfunctions or evidence
showing the vehicle’s impact
speed.
He noted the investigation
had been delayed because Frost
was hospitalized in Washington,
making it diffi cult to obtain medi-
cal records. He said police continue
to gather evidence, adding: “We’re
crossing our t’s and dotting our i’s”
he said. Frost has not been charged
or arrested in the incident, accord-
ing to Cooney and public records.
Police found “numerous” alco-
holic beverage containers in the
crashed Jetta that were “in plain
view,” documents show. Police
also found opened and unopened
containers of Coors beer and
Twisted Tea “within the passenger
compartment.”
Hopper, who said he was the
back right seat passenger, told
police, “Frost was the driver and
had drank approximately one or two
beers,” records show.
Hopper also said, according to
the affi davit, “Frost was driving as
usual, which is ‘hauling ass.’ ”
The collision occurred on Inter-
state 84 east of Echo when the Jetta
rear-ended a commercial truck
carrying a load of potatoes. Truck
driver Ediberto Carrillo, 31, of
Hermiston, told police he had been
driving around 55 mph at the time
of the crash. He was not injured,
police said.
Search warrant affi davits often
are public documents. Oregon State
Police trooper Luke Sitts wrote the
affidavit for the search warrant,
and Umatilla County Circuit Court
Judge Robert Collins issued it.
SIGNS OF FALL
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
Fall colors begin to adorn trees Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2021, on the North Hill in Pendleton.
County dishes out funds
in COVID-19 program
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — Local
organizations that helped with
COVID-19 vaccination eff orts
received a funding boost.
The Umatilla County
Board of Commissioners
in its bimonthly meeting on
Wednesday, Oct. 6, approved
more than $230,000 in funds
for organizations that partici-
pated in the county’s Commu-
nity Rewards Program, a
COVID-19 vaccine incentive
program. The funds — which
come from federal funding for
areas to improve their vacci-
nation rates — go to organiza-
tions in ZIP codes where more
than 60% of eligible residents
are vaccinated.
The program saw three areas
reach this benchmark: Pendle-
ton, Hermiston and Helix. Each
community received a baseline
$10,000, plus additional funds
based on population.
Hermiston received the
most money — $116,108.95.
Four organizations were
given more than $29,000 in
the program: Good Shep-
herd Medical Center; Eastern
Oregon Mission; Clearview
Disability Resource Center;
and the Hermiston Lions Foun-
dation.
Six Pendleton organiza-
tions received their cut of
$99,257.46. Each organiza-
tion got more than $16,500.
The organizations are the
Oregon East Symphony;
Pendleton Center for the
Arts; Altrusa International
Foundation; First Presbyte-
rian Church of Pendleton; the
Pendleton Cultural Founda-
tion; and the Peace Lutheran
Church.
The tiny town of Helix was
the first to exceed the 60%
milestone. Two organizations
there split nearly $16,000. They
are the Helix Park District and
the Helix Community Church.
The f unds concluded
the county’s sole incentive
program.
The commissioners also
approved the following items
in the meeting:
• The purchase of a new
motor grader for about
$350,000.
• The purchase of a stacker
conveyor of more than $35,680.
• The purchase of guardrail
supplies for about $8,700.
• Moving a senior deputy
from the sheriff ’s offi ce patrol
division to serve as an interim
patrol sergeant.
• The purchase of dispatch
equipment for $33,058.
• Funds to repaint the exte-
rior of the Guardian Care
Center, Pendleton, and a
request for proposal for new
boilers in the building.
• Adding a touch screen
system to the Umatilla County
Jail for $11,450.
Brothers arrested in assault
of elderly Heppner man
East Oregonian
HEPPNER — The Morrow County
Sheriff ’s Offi ce arrested a pair of brothers
Sunday, Oct. 4, on suspicion of assault-
ing a man.
Morrow County Sheriff Ken Matlack
said deputies arrested Ryan Walton, 38,
of Hillsboro, and Kurtis Walton, 35, of
North Plains, for fourth-degree assault
and fi rst-degree criminal trespassing
with a fi rearm.
The sheriff’s office reported John
Patterson, 70, confronted the two men
Oct. 4 while they were leaving his ranch
near Heppner after he heard gunshots
nearby. Matlack said Patterson tried to
prevent the brothers from fl eeing through
a gate on his property by turning the key
and shutting the car off .
Matlack said it’s unclear what
happened next, but there appeared to
be a fi ght and Patterson ended up on the
ground with his hat off . Patterson’s wife
told police the men threw her husband
over the fence and fl ed north on Highway
207 in a blue Chevrolet.
The sheriff ’s offi ce reported Patter-
son has chronic obstructive pulmonary
disease and was having diffi culty breath-
ing after the incident. But Matlack said
police did not notice any serious injuries
to Patterson.
Later that day, law enforcement found
a car at Anson Wright Park in Morrow
County that matched the description
from Patterson’s wife. Deputies found
the brothers in a nearby travel trailer,
and they acknowledged the incident but
claimed they didn’t shoot anything on the
property, Matlack said.
The sheriff ’s offi ce found a gun in the
back of the car, and Matlack said depu-
ties determined someone shot through
the side mirror, which he said is common
when people are hunting from their car.
At the same time, law enforcement
located a deer that had been shot on the
property.
Police arrested and booked the broth-
ers into the Umatilla County Jail, Pend-
leton, that day. The brothers’ preliminary
bail was $15,000, but they posted bail
within two hours of booking, according
to the Umatilla County Jail Commander
Thoren Hearn.
Matlack said the case now goes to
the Morrow County District Attorney’s
Offi ce.
John Mattila returns to Umatilla County for new trial
U.S. Supreme
Court ruling for
unanimous juries
behind reversal
of local verdicts
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — John
McKen zie Mat t ila of
Weston gets another shot at a
manslaughter trial thanks to
the change in U.S. law requir-
ing unanimous jury verdicts.
The U.S. Supreme Court
in 2020 in Ramos v. Louisi-
ana ruled the Sixth Amend-
ment to the Constitution
requires guilty verdicts for
criminal trials be unanimous.
Umatilla County District
Attorney Dan Primus said his
offi ce has handled a handful
of these cases already.
“We’re taking these cases
as they come back,” he said.
A jury in March 2020
convicted Mattila, 26, after
three hours of deliberation,
of fi rst- and second-degree
manslaughter for driving
drunk and causing the death
of Adelaida Solis Torres on
the night of Feb. 22, 2019.
Mat illa faced fou r
counts in all: first-degree
manslaughter, second-de-
gree manslaughter, hit-and-
run involving a person and
driving under the infl uence
of intoxicants. Primus said
the jury was unanimous only
on the hit-and-run.
The jury voted 11-1 to
convict Mattila of fi rst-degree
manslaughter and second-de-
gree manslaughter and voted
10-2 on the DUII.
Oregon along with Louisi-
ana were the only two states
not requiring unanimous
verdicts for criminal trials
until the Supreme Court deci-
sion. Primus said it’s hard to
speculate what the outcome
of Mattila’s trial would have
been if Oregon also required
unanimous verdicts at the
time. Perhaps the Mattila
trial would have ended with a
conviction, he said, or maybe
a hung jury.
Now, he said, the trial
process is starting over.
The Oregon Court of
Appeal reversed the verdicts
on Sept. 27, according to
court documents, and Mattila
on Sept. 29 returned to the
Umatilla County Jail, Pendle-
ton, from the Oregon Depart-
ment of Corrections. Circuit
Judge Jon Lieuallen has set
Matilla’s bail at $500,000,
and he has a pretrial confer-
ence Friday, Oct. 8.
“We’re in the process
r ig ht now of meeti ng
with the victims about
the circumstances and the
posture of the case — why
it’s back,” Primus said.
Dan Pacheco, the deputy
district attorney who helped
prosecute Mattila the first
time, is back on the case, and
Primus is joining him, replac-
ing another deputy district
attorney who has left.
Primus also said while
the case has come back for
retrial, that is not the only
option. The restart also opens
the door to negotiations for a
deal, an option Primus said
his offi ce has pursued in a few
other Ramos-related cases.
10/8-10/14
Cineplex Show Times
Theater seating will adhere to social distancing protocols
Every showing $7.50 per person (ages 0-3 still free)
No Time To Die (PG13)
1:10p 1:50p 7:30p 8:10p
Venom: Let There
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12:50p 3:30p 6:00p 8:30p
The Addams Family 2 (PG)
1:30p 4:30p 5:30p 7:50p
Shang-Chi and the
Legend of the Ten Rings
(PG13)
2:00p 5:10p 8:20p
Cry Macho (PG13)
4:50p
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