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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 15, 2021)
3 sNok signflz FEBRUARY 15, 2021 Blue Heron fire suspect to undergo mental health exam By Dean Rhodes Smoke Signals editor February • Monday, Feb. 15 – Tribal offices closed in observance of Tribal Chiefs’ Day holiday. • Wednesday, Feb. 24 – Tribal Council meeting, 10 a.m., Gover- nance Center, 9615 Grand Ronde Road. 503-879-2304. March • Sunday, March 7 – General Council meeting, 11 a.m., held via the Zoom teleconferencing application. 503-879-2304. • Wednesday, March 10 – Tribal Council meeting, 10 a.m., Gover- nance Center, 9615 Grand Ronde Road. 503-879-2304. • Wednesday, March 24 – Tribal Council meeting, 10 a.m., Gover- nance Center, 9615 Grand Ronde Road. 503-879-2304. (Editor’s note: All events are tentative depending on the status of the Tribe’s COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic response.) cultural education A re you missing out on what Cultural Education has to offer? Follow us on Facebook to get detailed class information, photos from events, and updates. Plus, check out the tribal calendar for a quick glance of upcoming events and classes. Open to Tribal and Community members. Join us! OREGON CITY – The man sus- pected of starting a fire that dam- aged the Grand Ronde Tribe’s Blue Heron property will receive a mental health examination from Oregon State Hospital personnel before his case possibly proceeds to trial. Clackamas County Judge Heath- er Karabeika ordered the mental health examination on Jan. 4 after finding there was reason to doubt Enrique Omar Mejia’s mental ability to proceed with a criminal defense against the arson charge filed against him. Oregon City police arrested Me- jia, 29, for the Dec. 5 fire at the former Blue Heron Paper Mill site that the Tribe purchased in August 2019. He was originally scheduled to go on trial on Wednesday, Feb. 3. Mejia’s court-appointed attorney Ruben Medina Jr. requested a psy- chiatric/psychological examination, saying that a criminal trial could violate his client’s “fundamental right to competency.” Mejia reportedly made “con- cerning statements” that call into question his ability to stand trial, Medina said. He added that his client’s family members said that he has been having mental health issues for some time. Medina told the court that Mejia claimed to have had a chip implant- ed in his head and wanted to know what would happen when the chip was discovered. He also asserted that he has since been followed around by a cult that is trying to frame him for a crime. According to a Dec. 29 court fil- ing report- ed by The Clackamas Review, Me- jia said that because of his brain implant “a group of people can Enrique Omar Mejia see what I’m thinking; they can see what I see, and they can hear what I hear. … I’m not sure exactly what it is, but I think it’s part of a cell phone or Google eye or something.” Mejia’s previous convictions in- clude a 2018 disorderly-conduct charge in Lincoln City. According to the Lincoln City News Guard, he also was cited and released by the Lincoln City Police Department in July 2020 after police received a report of a man with a beer pushing a crosswalk button over and over again. Oregon law states that a person may be found incapacitated if, as a result of a qualifying mental disor- der, he or she is “unable to under- stand the nature of the proceedings against the defendant or to assist and cooperate with the counsel.” Mejia remains in the Clacka- mas County Jail in Oregon City on $100,000 bail on one count of second-degree arson. He has been previously denied release because of failure to appear charges, the felony arson charge, having adult convictions and being unemployed. A hearing is tentatively sched- uled for Monday, March 29, to determine his mental fitness to proceed. Includes information from Pamplin Media Group EDERATED NF BES TRI THE C O THE CONFEDERATED TRIBES OF GRAND RONDE RA DE OF G ND RO N INDIGENT DEFENSE PROGRAM The Tribal Court is actively seeking attorneys for our Indigent Defense Program to represent parents and children involved in neglect and abuse cases within the jurisdiction of the Tribal Court. If interested please contact the Tribal Court: Shane Thomas Tribal Court Programs Coordinator 9615 Grand Ronde Road, Grand Ronde, OR 97347 Phone: 503-879-4623 Fax: 503-879-2269 shane.thomas@grandronde.org www.grandronde.org/government/tribal-court Ad by Samuel Briggs III Ad by Samuel Briggs III