A8
OFF PAGE ONE
East Oregonian
Saturday, July 23, 2022
Police:
attempting to stop them
when I turned on my over-
head lights on Hunter Road,”
Schaad wrote in his report.
“She stated Romine was
driving at this time, which
corresponds with what I saw
when the vehicle passed me
at Booth and Hunter Road.”
Continued from Page A1
Montez joins Jessica
Spalinger, 31, of Walla
Walla, Washington, and
Ashtin Romine, 26, of
Clarkston, Washington,
who were arrested around
10 p.m. July 17 in connec-
tion with the episode that
began with the attempted
bu rgla r y of Bu l lseye
Muzzleloader’s and More,
10201 W. First St., Island
City, on July 17.
The gun shop’s owner,
Rick Gorte, was pleased to
hear about the capture of the
fi nal suspect.
“I’m glad that they got
him,” he said. “He was a
danger to our community.”
The fallout
Store owner
recounts fending off
two masked men
Gorte was cleaning up
shattered glass on July 17
following a break-in at his
gun store the night before.
G or t e s a id a r ou nd
2:30 p.m. two masked men
attempted to enter the shat-
tered glass door of his store.
He and the four family
members and two friends
with him in his shop yelled
at the two masked men who
then fl ed the scene.
The two individuals ran
to and entered a white sedan
— later identifi ed as a 2005
KIA Spectra — parked west
of the gun shop. Gorte’s
daughter, Randi Jo Shafer,
then stood in front of the
sedan in an eff ort to stop
it from leaving. Its driver,
identified later during an
interview with Oregon State
Police detectives as Spalin-
ger, attempted to run over
Shafer, Gorte said, but she
leaped onto the hood of the
sedan before being thrown
off as the vehicle’s driver
sped away. Shafer’s foot was
injured as a result, accord-
ing to arrest documents.
As the sedan’s driver raced
out of the parking lot, Gorte’s
son-in-law fi red three shots
at it with a pistol. Gorte said
he believes at least one of the
shots may have hit the sedan.
Andrew Cutler/The Observer
A law enforcement offi cer stands near a bridge over Shaw Creek outside of Elgin on Sunday, July 17, 2022. Multiple law en-
forcements agencies were in the area searching for a suspect after an attempted robbery in Island City followed by a high-
speed chase that involved gunfi re.
Gorte’s son-in-law got into
a vehicle and began follow-
ing the sedan but pulled back
when a Union County Sher-
iff ’s deputy, responding to a
911 call from the store, took
over the chase toward Imbler.
Gorte said he thinks the
two masked individuals and
their driver were responsible
for the earlier break-in and
were attempting to rob the
store a second time.
The chase and gunfi re
According to arrest docu-
ments, shortly after flee-
ing the gun store, Spalinger
switched out from the driv-
er’s seat with Romine, who
then drove the vehicle to
Hunter Road where it was
located by pursuing law
enforcement near Booth
Lane.
“When the vehicle passed
me, I saw three occupants
in the vehicle; a male in the
driver’s seat and a second
male in the back seat and a
third person in the front seat,”
Union County Sheriff ’s Sgt.
Dick Mason/The Observer
Bullseye Muzzleloader’s and More, a store on First Street in
Island City, was the site of an attempted burglary on Sunday,
July 17, 2022, that turned into a high-speed chase and a man-
hunt for three suspects on foot outside of Elgin.
Travis Schaad wrote in the
arrest document.
Schaad attempted a traf-
fi c stop, but Romine failed to
yield and continued at speeds
of approximately 105 mph.
The pursuit ended up
on Summerville Road,
where Union County Sher-
iff’s Deputy Dane Jensen
reported shots were fired
from the sedan, which shat-
tered its rear window. One or
two bullets hit Jensen’s patrol
vehicle, which caused it to
overheat.
The Observer Publisher
Karrine Brogoitti was at her
Imbler home on Summerville
Road when the suspects sped
past. She heard the sound of
the speeding vehicle long
before it fl ew by the picture
windows of her living room.
The pursuit continued
through Imbler onto Striker
Lane before turning north
on Grays Corner Road.
They took Rinehart Lane
to Indian Creek where the
vehicle crashed at the bridge
on Indian Creek Road near
Dutton Road.
Romine, Spalinger and
Montez fl ed from the vehi-
cle into the dense brush and
vegetation. As a result, addi-
tional law enforcement was
called to the scene and a
perimeter was set up.
The Northeast Oregon
Regional SWAT Team and
the Oregon State Police
SWAT Team responded to the
area and ultimately located
and arrested Spalinger and
Romine late on July 17.
Romine was arrested for
reckless endangering and
for misdemeanor and felony
fl eeing, while Spalinger is in
jail for fi rst-degree assault,
hit-and-run with injury,
recklessly endangering and
misdemeanor fl eeing from
police.
“Spalinger admit ted
they knew the police were
The owner of Bullseye
Muzzleloader’s and More
said he has been over-
whelmed by the expres-
sions of support his family
is receiving on social media.
“It makes you feel like
people care, for sure,” Gorte
said.
Gorte, who has owned
his shop for almost 10 years,
said he fi nds it hard to believe
something like this occurred
in a place like Island City.
“You would not think
this could happen in a small
town,” he said. “Things have
changed and not for the best.”
Gorte said he is relieved
nobody suff ered any major
injuries. His daughter
received medical treatment
at Grande Ronde Hospital,
according to police docu-
ments.
“I’m glad that nobody
has been hurt,” he said. “My
daughter’s foot will heal.”
Gorte lauded the work law
enforcement offi cers did to
apprehend the three suspects.
“Our police force did an
exceptional job,” he said.
Gorte said he does not feel
relieved of all the stress he’s
been under, though, because
a lot of work is ahead as he
pushes to get his store back in
order following the break-in,
but he said he does feel better.
“I’m more hopeful,” he
said.
The court has appointed
attorneys for Spalinger and
Romine. La Grande’s James
Schaeffer is representing
Spalinger, and Canyon City’s
Kathleen Dunn is the attor-
ney for Romine. They have
hearing pleas scheduled for
Aug. 15 and Aug. 22, respec-
tively.
According to arrest docu-
ments, Montez is being
represented by Rick Dall of
La Grande. His plea hearing
is set for Aug. 17.
Heat:
Continued from Page A1
Brooks, the coach of a
youth boxing club in Pendle-
ton, is so concerned about the
projected hot weather, that he
is giving his boxers the option
of not coming to practice next
week. He explained he does
not know how many of his
boxers have items like air
conditioning in their homes
to help lower their core body
temperatures at night.
Temperatures will be
lower in Enterprise, which
has an elevation of 3,757 feet,
because it is higher, but even
the Wallowa Valley will not
escape the heat wave, not by
a long shot.
Enterprise is projected
to have high tempera-
tures of 85 degrees on July
23, 87 degrees on July 24,
89 degrees on July 25, 92
degrees on July 26, 93
degrees on July 27 and 95
degrees on July 28.
The projected Northeast-
ern Oregon heat wave will
hit about a year after a blis-
tering one hit this region.
That weather event, caused
by a high pressure system
described by many as a heat
dome, one which blocked
all weather systems out of
Home:
Continued from Page A1
“The mission will not be
easy,” Long said. “We will
fl y each night. Our mission
is to stop fentanyl, meth and
other illicit drugs from cross-
ing the border, and addition-
ally, to stop human traffi cking
and provide humanitarian
aid to those in need. But my
priority will be to use all of
my skills and experience to
bring everyone home on this
deployment.”
Long’s fi nal goal is to serve
his last eight years in Pend-
leton, once again fl ying the
CH-47.
“My last fl ight in the Lakota
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Dick Mason/The Observer
Landon Wilder, of Cove, a Spectrum fi eld technician, works in
sweltering heat Thursday, July 21, 2022, in La Grande.
the region, broke many high
temperature records. Brooks
does not expect the upcom-
ing heat wave to shatter any
records, but he said it poses a
threat to people because of its
projected prolonged nature.
“I’m not concerned about
records, I’m concerned about
safety,” Brooks said.
Pendleton and La Grande
typically experience their
hottest temperatures in the
last week of July and the fi rst
two or three days of August,
said Jim Smith, a meteorolo-
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will be Texas,” Long said.
“Upon my return, I will check
into the Pendleton Chinook
unit, and they will either tell me
to turn in my gear and retire,
or send me to fl y the Chinook.
Either way, I am good.”
Long has spent a lifetime
of public service in many
capacities. He served several
years on the Pendleton Airport
Commission, is an ex-board
member of McNary Yacht
Club, a Pendleton Air Museum
co-founder, former member of
the Pendleton City Club and a
27-year volunteer at Happy
Canyon.
“I can’t wait for Round-Up,”
Long said. “I love the run-in.”
Long has an interest in help-
ing the Pendleton Air Museum.
“I have a lead on an old
UH-1H (Huey),” Long said.
“I think I can help PAM get
the helicopter and we could
put it on static display at the
airport.”
Long can work for the
FAA remotely from anywhere
within commuting range
of Portland of his Rutan
Long-EZ homebuilt light
plane. World-famous engineer
Burt Rutan autographed it in
Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, as the
fi nest example of his design
he had ever seen.
“I picked Pendleton
because all my friends are
here,” he said. “Pendleton
is my home. I love dinner at
Cimmiyotti’s on Friday night,
a cold beer at the Packard,
CrossFit at 1910 and the real
feel of a community here.”
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