SATURDAY, MAY 23, 2020
COMMUNITY
Possible witness in murder case
sentenced to 70 months in prison
By Chris Collins
ccollins@bakercityherald.com
A Baker City man with a lengthy
criminal record who was placed on pro-
bation in exchange for agreeing to testify
at a murder trial is back in prison for
using drugs and committing new crimes
just days after his latest probation term
had begun.
James Grove, 42, was sentenced to 70
months in prison for failing to keep the
deal he’d made with the District Attor-
ney’s Offi ce in March.
On March 19, Grove pleaded guilty to
fi rst-degree burglary and was sentenced
to three years on probation. Additional
charges of fi rst-degree burglary, felon in
possession of a fi rearm and third-degree
criminal mischief were dismissed.
As part of the deal, Grove had agreed
to cooperate with law enforcement in the
investigation of Shawn Greenwood, who
is being held at the Baker County Jail on
multiple charges related to the Janu-
ary shooting death of Angela Parrish
of Vale, and the assault with a fi rearm
of Nathaniel Brown of Baker City. Any
failure to abide by that part of the agree-
ment also would have led to a probation
revocation, court documents state.
However, the deal ended on May 6 in
Baker County Circuit Court when Mal-
heur County Judge Lung Hung revoked
Grove’s probation and sentenced him to
prison.
Prior to sentencing, Grove had asked
Hung for another chance at probation
rather than “burning up another fi ve
years of my life and not getting treat-
ment.”
Grove’s attorney Bob Moon of Baker
City pointed out that Grove had never
received treatment for his drug addiction
during his last fi ve prison terms.
“I’m new to this case,” Moon said in
response to comments about Grove’s long
criminal history and lack of compliance
on probation from District Attorney Greg
Baxter.
“To me, this guy is a drug addict who’s
never gotten treatment,” Moon said. “I
feel like when we took his plea on this
case, we set him up to fail.
“He should have gone from the
courtroom to an inpatient treatment
program,” Moon said. “He indicated to
me that he thought he could stay clean
and sober, so we didn’t pursue inpatient
treatment.”
Moon joined Grove in asking Hung to
give his client a chance at treatment.
“I ask you to continue his probation,”
Moon said. “We can keep him in custody
until I can fi nd an inpatient treatment
program for him.
“And if he does anything other than
complete treatment, it’s time to revoke
him,” Moon said.
Baxter said he would support recom-
mending an Alternative Incarceration
Program (AIP), which provides intensive
treatment for those in custody with the
Department of Corrections.
“When he’s high that’s when his con-
cerning behavior starts,” Baxter told the
judge. “He needs help, but we can’t have
this behavior when he’s on probation.”
Hung agreed with the prosecutor,
pointing to Grove’s actions that resulted
in the hearing to revoke his probation.
“You used, plus you were terrorizing
people in their own homes in the middle
of the night,” Hung said.
Baker City Police offi cers Mark Powell
and Shannon Regan testifi ed during the
May 6 hearing that Karen Bernardy
and Jose Yanez reported that Grove had
entered the bedroom of their home the
morning of March 24 and began yelling
obscenities at them and ordering them to
leave “his” home.
He later threw a piece of wood through
a window of the house as he left.
Grove entered the house through the
basement where Bernardy’s daughter
and his former girlfriend, Raeganne
Terrell, was staying. Terrell testifi ed
that Grove was “throwing a fi t.” She told
police that he had towered over her and
prevented her from leaving the room,
but in court she testifi ed that she wasn’t
concerned for her safety.
“He was being an idiot and off the
hook,” she said.
Lt. Ryan Downing of the Baker
County Parole and Probation Depart-
ment said that when he interviewed
Grove at the jail later that day Grove ad-
mitted having used methamphetamine
the day before.
Downing told Hung that Grove’s his-
tory of probationary supervision with
the department dated back to 1995 and
that Grove had been supervised on 22
separate cases.
Downing said that over the years
Grove had followed the same pattern
that he had in this instance.
“He gets out of jail, signs an agree-
ment and we don’t see him again until
he’s arrested again,” Downing said.
At the time of his most recent sentenc-
ing, Grove was under supervision on six
cases, Downing said.
Grove had been offered treatment
over the years, but had never enrolled in
a program, Downing said.
The state sought revocation of Grove’s
probation on the three-year probation
term because of his failure to follow the
action plan developed as part of the
plea agreement. The plan required that
he abstain from using drugs or alco-
hol, commit no new crimes and check
in every Wednesday with Parole and
Probation, which he had not yet been
able to do because he was sentenced on
a Thursday (March 19) and arrested
again on the following Tuesday (March
24).
Based on information presented dur-
ing the hearing, Judge Hung found that
Grove had violated his probation. As
the judge announced his decision, Grove
stormed out of the room where he had
been sitting for a video hearing from the
jail.
Hung said Grove would receive credit
for time served and could earn good time
and other opportunities for early release.
Grove also was ordered to complete a
36-month probation term upon release
from prison. Because Grove left the room
before the sentencing had ended, Moon
agreed to inform Grove that he would
have 30 days to appeal Hung’s decision.
Police: Attempted kidnapping didn’t happen
BAKER CITY HERALD — 3A
L OCAL B RIEFING
Ladies shooting group schedules initial
meetings for next week in Baker City
Initial meetings for the Pistolettes, a ladies shoot-
ing group, are scheduled for May 26 and May 28
from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. both nights at the Powder River
Sportsmen’s Club clubhouse, 2690 Broadway St.
More information is available by contacting instruc-
tor Vern Trowbridge by email, hoka6hey@hotmail.
com. The Powder River Sportsmen’s Club will resume
its monthly meetings, and its range near Virtue Flat
remains open to individual members.
Community Connection has money
available for food and shelter programs
Baker County will receive $6,792 from the Federal
Emergency Management Agency and $9,683 from the
CARES Act’s emergency food and shelter program.
Organizations that provide those services to Baker
County residents can apply for some of the money
through Community Connection of Baker County.
To request an application, call Joe Hayes at 541-523-
6591, extension 11, or email to joe@ccno.org. Applica-
tion deadline is June 12 at 4 p.m.
Harvest Christian Academy has open
enrollment for all grades for the fall
Harvest Christian Academy in Baker City is enroll-
ment students in all grades for this fall. The school is
open for students age 3 through 12th grade. The school
uses the Abeka curriculum for all grades.
Costs and other information are available at www.
bakercityharvest.org
Applications available for Baker County
Livestock Producers scholarship
Applications are available for the Baker County
Livestock Producers Foundation scholarship for the
2020-21 school year. Applicants must be residents of
Baker County and either attending or been accepted
for a second year or higher at an accredited college or
vocational school. Additionally, applications must be
pursuing an agriculturally related course of study. Ap-
plications are available at the Baker County Extension
Offi ce, 2600 East St., and are due by July 15.
More information is available by calling the Exten-
sion Offi ce at 541-523-6418 or Kay Markgraf at 541-
519-2203.
New At The Library
The drive-in window has reopened, and patrons
can reserve materials in advance online or by
calling 541-523-6419. Only local materials are
available, as the Sage Interlibrary Loan system is
closed. Drive-in hours are Monday through Friday,
9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from
noon to 4 p.m.
but was able to get free and
returned home safe. A bicycle,
A day-long effort to track
which was later recovered,
down an alleged kidnapper
also was reportedly taken
ended with the 11-year-old
from the yard by a second
victim recanting his story
man.
that he had been abducted
As the investigation got
from his yard early Thursday underway, Police Chief Ray
morning.
Duman stated that he did
The investigation began
not believe the incident was
after the boy reported that
cause for community alarm.
he had been grabbed from
Lt. Ty Duby and detec-
the yard of his home in the
tive Shannon Regan spent
900 block of Elm Street when the day canvassing the area,
he stepped outside about 2
viewing video footage from
a.m. Thursday. In his original the nearby Elm Street Laun-
report, the boy said he was
dry and talking with the boy’s
carried off by his abductor
father several times.
Late Thursday afternoon,
the child’s father called police
to report that his son had
admitted that he had not
been abducted. Instead, the
boy said he had gone for a
ride on the bicycle about 2
a.m., saw a man walking in
the area and became spooked.
The boy ditched the bike and
ran home.
“Nobody touched him or
attempted to grab him,” Du-
man said. “It turned out to be
nothing.”
Duman said Friday morn-
ing that the department was
satisfi ed with the effort ex-
IRRIGATION
Wednesday morning, Colton cfs. At noon Friday the Pow-
cut back the volume of water der was down to 60 cfs.
fl owing from the reservoir.
“You’ll love the work we do. I guarantee it.” - JR
That was at 8 a.m.
Two hours later, with the
rain continuing, he clamped
down a second time.
And fi nally, on Thursday,
225 H Street • East of I-84 • 541-523-3200 • grumpysrepair.com
Colton reverted to the mini-
mum allowed release, about
20 cfs.
Although the rain had
ceased, Colton said demand
for irrigation water will be
signifi cantly lower for the
next couple of weeks as farm-
ers let their alfalfa fi elds dry
in preparation for the fi rst
cutting of hay.
“The timing is perfect,” he
said. “It gives us a chance to
stop using water for a while.”
The Powder River contin-
ued to rise through much of
Wednesday even as Colton
was releasing less water from
the reservoir.
One reason, he said, is
that it takes about 12 hours
for changes in the release
volume from the dam to have
an effect on the river level in
Infectious disease control has always been a top priority
Baker City.
for Oregon’s hospitals. With extra CDC and Oregon Health
Another is that the rain-
Authority safety measures in place, our teams are ready
storm swelled Powder River
tributaries, such as Elk and
to welcome back patients and address health needs. Rest
Denny creeks, that are below
assured that behind those masks are smiles from the same
the dam.
people who’ve always been there, ready to take care of you
The river, measured at a
and your loved ones.
gauge near Wade Williams
Field, rose from 200 cfs early
Wednesday to a peak of 382
cfs around 1:15 p.m. that day.
By midnight Wednesday
the river had receded to 154
By Chris Collins
ccollins@bakercityherald.com
Continued from Page 1A
Spring Snow
Some parts of North-
But this spring the lack of
eastern Oregon missed
rain, combined with frequent
out on the rainstorm
strong winds that leach water
earlier this week.
from the top layer of the soil,
They got snow
prompted farmers to start
instead.
An automated snow-
calling for irrigation water in
April.
measuring station near
Colton said he has had to
Aneroid Lake, in the
release water from the reser-
Eagle Cap Wilderness
voir at a rate as high as 298
south of Wallowa Lake,
cubic feet per second (cfs).
recorded 13 inches of
That’s almost as much
new snow Wednesday.
water as was fl owing into the
Snow depth at the sta-
reservoir from the Powder
tion, elevation 7,400 feet,
increased from 41 inches
River and its tributaries, he
to 54 inches.
said.
Mount Howard, above
The volume of water stored
Wallowa Lake, recorded
in the reservoir refl ects that
14 inches of snow, and
nearly equal balance between
at Moss Springs, in the
infl ows and outfl ows.
Wallowas east of Cove,
When the spring is soggy,
about 7 inches of snow
allowing Colton to capture
fell.
almost all the infl ow, the
reservoir can rise by several
hundred acre-feet per day.
(1 acre-foot of water would cover one acre of fl at ground
to a depth of 1 foot. An acre-
foot equals about 326,000
gallons.)
EWS OF
But this spring the reser-
voir has added an average
ECORD
of about 76 acre-feet per
day since mid-April. And on
DEATHS
several days during the past
Leon ‘Shorty’ Welch:
month the reservoir level has
75, of Richland, died May 20,
actually dropped slightly.
2020, at his home. Arrange-
ments are under the direction
As of Friday, Phillips was
of Tami’s Pine Valley Funeral
holding
about 32,600 acre-
Home & Cremation Services.
feet
of
water;
at full pool it
Online condolences can be
made at www.tamispineval-
impounds about 73,000.
leyfuneralhome.com
When rain started falling
N
R
pended in getting to the truth
of the matter. Through the
investigation, offi cers learned
that the boy has had some
recent issues. They will work
to help the family obtain as-
sistance.
“Sometimes it’s almost as
good disproving a crime has
occurred as it is proving a
crime occurred,” Duman said.
In conferring with the
District Attorney’s Offi ce, the
decision was made not to pur-
sue charges against the boy.
“Why charge somebody
criminally if you can get them
help?” Duman said.
FICTION
• “The 20th Victim,” James Patterson
• “Secrets of Bones,” Kyle Logan
• “Big Summer,” Jennifer Weiner
• “Close Up,” Amanda Quick
• “Camino Winds,” John Grisham
NONFICTION
• “Magnolia Table [V.2],” Joanna Gaines
• “Barron’s ACT premium study guide,” Brian
Stewart
• “Offi cial Impeachment report,” U.S. House
• “Untamed,” Glennon Doyle
• “The Splendid and the Vile,” Erik Larson
DVDS
• “The Aspern Papers” (Drama)
• “Bombshell” (Drama)
• “Color Out of Space” (Sci-Fi)
• “PBS Masterpiece: Howards End” (Drama)
• “Up in Smoke” (Comedy, 1978)
HOSPITALS
ARE OPEN,
SAFE, AND
HERE FOR
YOUR
HEALTH.