Polk County Itemizer-Observer • March 11, 2015 5A
Polk County News
Roads: Police depend on
county’s safety services
Continued from Page 1A
They agreed to sell the
pistol for $100 and metham-
phetamine. Middleman’s
services in finding a buyer
ended up being expensive,
$40 and half the metham-
phetamine.
Dallas police asked for
Salem PD’s assistance in
finding Middleman.
Following interviews with
each of the suspects, police
arrested Smash on Nov. 24,
Middleman on Nov. 26 and
Grab on Nov. 27.
—
Dallas police took the
suspects to Polk County Jail
to await arraignment in Polk
County Circuit Court. Re-
gardless of jurisdiction —
Dallas, Independence, Mon-
mouth, West Salem, Oregon
State Police — each arrestee
is taken to the county jail in
Dallas and the case placed
in the hands of the Polk
County District Attorney’s
Office. Both agencies — in
particular the DA — struggle
against reduced staffing lev-
els to finish the job officers
begin.
With the exception of
charging the Confederated
Tribes of Grand Ronde for
holding suspects until they
are charged in Polk County
Circuit Court, the jail holds
inmates at no charge.
Even suspects charged in
city courts are held for free.
Sheriff Bob Wolfe said some-
day that may have to
change.
“I really do not want to go
there,” Wolfe said. “The
cities help pass the bond (to
build the jail) and the com-
missioners said they won’t
charge them. But times have
changed, costs have gone
up. I’m trying to keep from
passing on that cost.”
Police also hand over evi-
dence and reports to the DA
for prosecution.
District Attorney Aaron
Felton said that begins with
reviewing the case and de-
ter mining appropr iate
charges.
That has to happen fast.
Charges have to be filed
with the court by 10:30 a.m.
the next business day or
suspects may be released.
With a staff of four prosecu-
tors — including Felton —
and a full schedule of court
hearings, trials and other
cases coming in, that puts
the office under the gun.
Initially, Smash was
charged with two counts of
first-degree theft and un-
lawful entry into a motor ve-
hicle; Grab with one count
of first-degree theft and un-
lawful entry into a motor ve-
hicle; and Middleman with
first-degree theft for his role
in selling the gun.
On Dec. 3, a grand jury
indicted them on those
charges.
These cases did not go to
trial, but still had several
court hearings before each
suspect agreed to plea bar-
gains.
Smash pleaded guilty to
first-degree theft on Feb. 10
and was recommended for
drug court, given his crimi-
nal history and issues with
drugs.
Grab pleaded guilty to
first-degree theft in Decem-
ber and was sentenced to 18
months of probation, given
his cooperation and lack of
criminal history.
Middleman pleaded
guilty to first-degree theft
and was sentenced to 18
months of probation,
though that may be in dan-
ger as he’s been accused of
not reporting to his parole
officer.
“This is a bread-and-but-
ter case,” Felton said. “That
was really good police work.
… We were able to work out
plea agreements with all of
them. We convicted them
all.”
But just to get there —
charging them, attending
court hearings, negotiating
and preparing for a poten-
tial trial — takes weeks or
months of work and money.
“All that is in the context
of doing the same thing with
other cases,” Felton said.
—
Now convicted of crimes,
the trio is in the hands of
Polk County’s drug court
and community corrections
office.
While this case involved
felony charges, many plea
deals end in misdemeanor
convictions, Silbernagel
said. His office is allocated
funding from the state to su-
pervise offenders based on
felony convictions, so fewer
deputies on the road and
fewer prosecutors to work
on felony cases means his
office will suffer.
Silbernagel is already see-
ing a downward trend in the
number of cases under su-
pervision due to a declining
number of arrests with
fewer deputies on duty. He
says without the levy that
will continue.
“It’s big circle, how we
work together,” he said.
Timeline
of a Case
Side
Example of a Polk
County criminal case and
the agencies involved:
—
• Oct. 5, 2014 — Two
thieves break into a truck
on Northwest Denton
Avenue in Dallas, steal-
ing a safe with a 45 mm
pistol inside. They decide
to sell the pistol for
drugs and cash.
• Oct. 6, 2014 — The
owner of the truck reports
the theft to Dallas police,
who start an investigation
into that and similar inci-
dents in the area. Officers
lift fingerprints off vehi-
cles and send them to
Salem Police Depart-
ment’s Crime Lab.
• Nov. 24, 2014 — Fin-
gerprint analysis identifies
one of the suspects. Police
interview that suspect,
who admits breaking into
cars and eventually to
stealing the gun. The first
suspect also tells police
about his partner in the
break-ins. Police interview
the second suspect as
well, who describes the
theft and identifies yet an-
other person involved in
selling the gun.
• Nov. 24, 2014 —
First suspect is taken to
Polk County jail.
• Nov. 25, 2014 —
Polk County District At-
torney’s Office charges
are filed on first suspect.
• Nov. 26, 2014 — Of-
ficers located the third
suspect, who helped the
first two sell the pistol
for drugs and money. He
admits to his involve-
ment and is taken to jail.
• Nov. 27, 2014 —
Second suspect is ar-
rested and taken to jail.
• Nov. 28, 2014 — DA
files initial charges on sec-
ond and third suspects.
• Dec. 3, 2014 — Polk
County Grand Jury in-
dicts all three suspects.
• Dec. 23-24, 2014 —
Second and third sus-
pects plead guilty to
first-degree theft charges
and are sentenced to 18
months of probation.
• Feb. 10, 2015 —
First suspect pleads
guilty to first-degree
theft and is assigned to
Polk County Drug Court,
with the stipulation that
if he fails in the program,
he will serve prison time.
• March 13, 2015 —
Third suspect is due back
in court on a possible
probation violation.
Noland
Gardner
Bryant
Hernandez
Corrections posts ‘most wanted’
Itemizer-Observer staff report
POLK COUNTY — Polk
County Community Correc-
tions lists these individuals
as “most wanted” for March.
Citizens with information on
the whereabouts of any of
these individuals should call
Community Corrections at
503-623-5226.
• Christopher Side, born
March 16, 1981, 6-2, 200
pounds, brown hair, green
eyes. Charges: Burglary I.
• Kelly Lane Noland, born
Nov. 5, 1970, 6-1, 210
pounds, brown hair, blue
eyes. Charges: Burglary I.
• Lateshia R. Gardner,
born Jan. 25, 1992, 5-3, 120
pounds, brown hair, brown
eyes. Charges: Possession of
heroin.
• Arlie Br yant, born
March 10, 1989, 5-7, 145
pounds, brown hair, brown
eyes. Charges: Burglary I,
possession of methamphet-
amine.
• Jose Molina-Hernandez,
born Aug. 15, 1979, 5-5, 160
pounds, black hair, brown
eyes. Charges: Assault IV.
POLICE REPORT
Information for the police re-
port comes from law enforce-
ment agencies. Not all calls for
service are included. The status
of incidents repor ted may
change after further investiga-
tion. Individuals arrested or sus-
pected of crimes are considered
innocent until proven guilty.
—
DALLAS
Arrests/Citations
• Nicholas M. Roe, 25, of Dal-
las in the 200 block of Southeast
LaCreole Drive on March 2 on
charges of unlawful possession
of less than four ounces of mar-
ijuana and physical harassment.
• Steven J. Ridenour, 19, of
Salem in the 400 block of
Southwest Ash Street on March
3 on charges of failure to carry
or present an operator’s license
and a violation of license re-
strictions.
• Michael J. Adams, 56, of
Salem in the 200 block of East
Ellendale Avenue on March 4
on a parole violation.
• Sabrina D. Eldridge, 34, of
Dallas at Walmart, 321 NE Kings
Valley Highway, on March 4 on
a charge of third-degree theft.
• Nicholas R. Greenwood, 31,
of Dallas on Southwest Donald
Street on Friday on charges of
failure to carry or present an
operator’s license, a violation of
license restrictions and driving
uninsured.
• Scott R. Mertens, 48, of Dal-
las in the 300 block of South-
west Donald Street on Friday
on charges of second-degree
criminal mischief, physical ha-
rassment and second-degree
disorderly conduct.
• Carl J. Luthe, 41, of Dallas
on Southwest Levens Street on
Friday on a Florence Municipal
Court warrant.
INDEPENDENCE
Arrests/Citations
• Monica Lisa Villa, 45, of In-
dependence in the 900 block
of Morning Glory Drive on
Thursday for felony fourth-de-
gree simple assault.
MONMOUTH
Arrests/Citations
• Antonio Ranjel Guijosa, 21
of Monmouth in the 100 block
of Edwards Road South on
March 1 for misdemeanor
fourth-degree simple assault.
• Abraham Vela, 30, of Mon-
mouth in the 300 block of Gen-
tle Avenue East on March 3 for
unlawful possession of less
than one ounce of marijuana
and a parole violation.
• Robert Lee Logan, 47, of
Monmouth at Volunteer Hall,
144 Warren St. S., on March 4
for second-degree disorderly
conduct, second-degree crimi-
nal mischief and probation vio-
lation.
• Eric Merrell, 36, of Mon-
mouth in the 400 block of Hef-
fley Street South on Thursday
for endangering the welfare of
a minor and furnishing, provid-
ing a place or giving liquor to a
minor or intoxicated person.
• Rachel Carpenter, 34, of
Salem in the 300 block of Mon-
mouth Avenue North on Thurs-
day for second-degree official
misconduct and knowingly ob-
taining or using personal infor-
mation from Department of
Motor Vehicle records.
• Israel Vargas, 27, of Mon-
mouth in the 200 block of Clay
Street East on Saturday for vio-
lating a restraining order and
physical harassment.
• Karina Parra, 21, of Inde-
pendence in the 400 block of
Clay Street East on Sunday for
aggravated harassment, assault
of a police officer, resisting ar-
rest and second-degree disor-
derly conduct.
Solution on Page 6A
Superintendent: Johnstone
starts with district on July 1
Continued from Page 1A
Blanchard said when he
called Johnstone Sunday
night to extend the offer, she
didn’t hesitate to accept.
“She said she wants to
come to a district like this,”
he said. “She is very excited
about coming to this dis-
trict.”
Pending the outcome of
contract negotiations, John-
stone, 51, will be paid
$125,000 in salary. A final
contract will be approved at
a future Dallas School Board
meeting.
Dennis Engle, who has
been serving as interim su-
perintendent, will resume
his role as assistant superin-
tendent once Johnstone
joins the district.
In the meantime, Blan-
chard said Engle and John-
stone will be working togeth-
er to assure a smooth transi-
tion between now and July 1.
“We need to ensure that
students leave our educa-
tional system ready to
achieve their goals and are
contributing members of our
society,” Johnstone said in a
statement following the an-
nouncement. “Becoming the
Dallas superintendent is an
exciting opportunity to make
a difference in the lives of the
district’s children. I look for-
ward to becoming a part of
this wonderful community.”
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