A2 THE BULLETIN • SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2021
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DESCHUTES COUNTY
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6 a.m.-noon Tuesday-Friday
7 a.m.-noon Saturday-Sunday
and holidays
Deschutes County cases: 5,934 (17 new cases)
Deschutes County deaths: 59 (zero new deaths)
LOCAL
VACCINATIONS
Number of vaccinations
given by St. Charles
Health System
120
(Jan. 1)
90
new
cases
110
*No data
available on
Jan. 31
due to state
computer
maintenence
(Nov. 27)
90
80
70
50
7-day
average
28 new cases
(July 16)
40
31 new cases
(Oct. 31)
30
16 new cases
(Sept. 19)
20
(May 20)
1st case
100
(Nov. 14)
9 new cases
ONLINE
108 new cases
60
8 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Fri.
www.bendbulletin.com
130
(Dec. 4)
47 new cases
COVID-19 patients hospitalized at
St. Charles Bend: 14 (2 in ICU)
541-382-1811
What is COVID-19? It’s an infection caused by a new
coronavirus. Symptoms include fever, coughing and
shortness of breath. This virus can be fatal.
7 ways to help limit its spread: 1. Wash hands often
with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. 2. Avoid
touching your face. 3. Avoid close contact with sick
people. 4. Stay home. 5. In public, stay 6 feet from others
and wear a mask. 6. Cough into your elbow. 7. Clean and
disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces.
24,561
Jefferson County cases: 1,951 (1 new case)
Jefferson County deaths: 28 (zero new deaths)
Oregon cases: 154,878 (336 new cases)
Oregon deaths: 2,206 (2 new deaths)
GENERAL
INFORMATION
BULLETIN
GRAPHIC
129 new cases
COVID-19 data for Thursday, Feb. 26:
Crook County cases: 775 (zero new cases)
Crook County deaths: 18 (zero new deaths)
PHONE HOURS
SOURCES: OREGON HEALTH AUTHORITY,
DESCHUTES COUNTY HEALTH SERVICES
New COVID-19 cases per day
10
(March 11)
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Bend man gets 21 years in luring, child porn case
BY GARRETT ANDREWS
The Bulletin
DEPARTMENT HEADS
A Bend man was sentenced
to 21 years in prison for at-
tempting to lure an undercover
police officer posing as the
mother of a fictitious 11-year-
old and for also possessing
thousands of images of child
pornography.
The case of Donal C. Steven-
son began with a detective in
Kentucky, and ultimately led to
the arrest of a Missouri couple
and the removal of their child
by protective services.
Stevenson, 45, appeared Fri-
day in Deschutes County Cir-
cuit Court, where prosecutor
Brooks McClain read aloud the
case’s lengthy fact pattern.
In April 2019, a detective with
the Kentucky Department of
Justice contacted Oregon State
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ý
Lottery results can now be found on
the second page of Sports.
Police to say she had begun an
investigation into a Bend man
while working undercover on
the anonymous messaging app
Whisper. She’d been posing as a
31-year-old single mother of an
11-year girl.
“If you don’t like my rules
then don’t bother chatting,”
read the fictitious woman’s ini-
tial Whisper post.
Stevenson had reached out,
inquiring about the child and
the woman’s “rules.” Over the
next few weeks, he and the de-
tective communicated fairly
regularly, McClain said.
“They very quickly turned
into communications that were
very sexual in nature,” McClain
said. “And the sexual intent
was directed at the 11-year-old
child.”
Stevenson eventually pro-
vided the
undercover
officer with
advice on
how to
groom the
fictitious
Stevenson
mother’s
daughter for
sexual contact with an adult.
He sent her videos showing
prepubescent girls being sexu-
ally abused by adult men.
The detective told Steven-
son she was also responsible for
a 2-year-old niece, and he ex-
pressed an interest in sexual in-
tercourse with this child, as well.
He used a fake name in the
chats but sent the detective a
real photo of himself and his
actual phone number.
OSP detectives connected
the phone number and photo to
Stevenson, a registered sex of-
fender and Taco Bell employee
living with his mother in Bend.
Law enforcement officers
next arranged a meet up in De-
schutes County between Steven-
son and the fictitious woman.
On the appointed day, May,
13, 2019, OSP detectives tailed
him to the Chalet motel, noting
stops along the way at a Dol-
lar Tree and the Imagine That
adult store. When police later
searched his vehicle, they found
newly purchased children’s toys
from Dollar Tree and sex toys
from Imagine That.
On Stevenson’s digital de-
vices, police located thousands
of images and videos of chil-
dren in pornographic displays.
OSP detectives pulled several
photos from March of that year
that contained embedded GPS
coordinates.
As a result, OSP contacted
law enforcement officers in
Missouri, who responded to
the home of a couple there,
placed a child in protective
custody and charged the par-
ents for the creation of those
pornographic images.
Stevenson was charged with
30 counts of encouraging child
sexual abuse and one count
each of first-degree attempted
sexual abuse, first-degree rape
and first-degree online sexual
corruption of a child.
He pleaded guilty earlier this
month to six counts of encour-
aging child sexual abuse and
one of online sexual corruption
of a child and one of attempted
child sex abuse.
ý
Reporter: 541-383-0325, g
andrews@bendbulletin.com
Biden administration rescinds grazing permit
BY MAXINE BERNSTEIN
The Oregonian
A senior adviser in the De-
partment of Interior on Fri-
day rescinded the decision by
the Trump administration to
grant Hammond Ranches Inc.
a 10-year grazing permit and
directed the Bureau of Land
Management to give the matter
further consideration.
The decision came as Con-
gress was moving to confirm
President Joe Biden’s pick of
Deb Haaland as the new Inte-
rior secretary and followed a
day after four environmental
advocacy groups filed a lawsuit
in federal court to block the
grazing permit for the Ham-
monds.
It also comes just days before
the cattle were expected to be
turned out on the more than
26,000 acres of public lands
neighboring the Malheur Na-
tional Wildlife Refuge about 45
to 70 miles south of Burns.
The action marks the latest
twist in a years-long saga sur-
rounding the grazing rights of
Dwight Hammond Jr. and son
Steven Hammond after they
were convicted of setting fire to
public lands and served prison
time.
A memo from the Interior
secretary’s office Friday found
that the prior administration
had not allowed for sufficient
time to receive and consider
public challenges to the
proposed awarding of the
permit to the Hammond fam-
ily.
cia Sykora gave him credit for
time served, meaning he had
six days remaining on his sen-
tence.
Murray
had gained
access to the
airport by
hopping a
chain-link
fence. He
Murray
wandered
around, com-
ing within 30 feet of a Delta
plane attempting to take off,
prosecutor Marc Miller told
Sykora.
Once at the Deschutes
County jail, Murray became
“uncooperative” and wrestled
with corrections deputies, tak-
ing a swing at one, Miller said.
Murray was charged with
trespass, harassment and as-
saulting an officer. He pleaded
guilty earlier this week to the
trespass and assault charges.
Asked why he had ap-
proached the airplanes, Mur-
ray told police he did it, “be-
cause he was bored.”
Murray’s attorney, Lisa
Valenta, said Friday that video
of the incident clearly con-
firmed Murray was experienc-
ing a mental health crisis.
In addition to jail time, Mur-
ray was given 18 months pro-
bation and ordered to undergo
a mental health evaluation and
abide by all prescribed treat-
ment.
LOCAL BRIEFING
City of Bend buildings set
to reopen with limitations
The city of Bend will par-
tially reopen of some of its
public facilities for in-person
services starting Monday.
The buildings have been
closed to the public for nearly
a year due to the COVID-19
pandemic.
Visitors will be required to
wear masks and stay physically
distant at all times while inside
city facilities.
The city is still asking people
to call or conduct their busi-
ness online if possible to limit
the number of people coming
into facilities.
Public meetings will still be
held virtually, according to a
city press release.
City Hall at 710 NW Wall St.
will be open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The Utility Billing building at
639 NW Franklin Ave. will be
open 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and
1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m.
The municipal court lobby
and service windows at 555 NE
15th St. will be open 9 a.m. to
noon and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. The
Bend Police Department, will
be open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
For more information, con-
tact Joshua Romero, the city’s
communications manager, at
541-693-2185 or at jromero@
bendoregon.gov.
Science Pub to discuss
environmental activism
The next installment of Ore-
gon State University-Cascades’
Science Pub series of lectures
will focus on the intersection
of environmental justice and
social activism.
The presentation will be held
virtually at 6 p.m. on March 8,
and Robert Melchior Figueroa
— an associ-
ate professor
of environ-
mental justice
and philoso-
phy at OSU
— will speak,
Figueroa
according to
an OSU-Cas-
cades press release.
Figueroa will discuss the
history of environmental activ-
ism, from the late 19th century
to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The event will be broadcast
on YouTube. To register, visit
OSU-Cascades’ website.
COVID-19 vaccines
available at pharmacies
Pharmacies in Central
Oregon are now offering
COVID-19 vaccines to eligible
groups, according to the De-
schutes County Public Health
Department.
Appointments can be made
at the following pharmacies:
• Albertsons/Safeway: www.
safeway.com/pharmacy/
covid-19.html
• Costco: www.costco.com/
covid-vaccine.html
• Health Mart: www.health-
martcovidvaccine.com/
There are not enough vac-
cines available to vaccinate
all eligible Oregonians at the
pharmacies due to limited sup-
ply, according to the county
health department.
Those currently eligible for
COVID-19 vaccines in Oregon
are adults 70 and older, educa-
tors and school staff and health
care workers. Appointments
for adults 70 and older are now
full in the region.
Central Oregon residents
can sign up online to be noti-
fied when they are eligible to
receive the vaccine at vaccine.
deschutes.org.
Man gets 30 days for
trespassing on tarmac
A Redmond man was sen-
tenced to 30 days in jail for
trespassing on the tarmac of
the Redmond Airport and ap-
proaching airplanes loaded
with passengers.
TJ Nikalus Murray, 26, ap-
peared Friday in Deschutes
County Circuit Court by video
from the Deschutes County
jail, where he’s been since
his arrest Feb. 4. Judge Aly-
541.480.8130
louie@louiehoffman.com
“Catch My Drift”
Louie Hoffman, CCIM
Principal Broker, Licensed in Oregon
SRES, Senior Real Estate Specialist
%(1'_5('021'
Warm Springs gets $1.5M
for affordable housing
The Confederated Tribes of
Warm Springs have received
$1.5 million from the Depart-
ment of Housing and Urban
Development to preserve and
expand their stock of low-in-
come housing.
The funds are part of the
$652 million award to Native
American communities across
the nation, according to a
statement on Friday issued by
HUD. In total, Oregon tribes
were awarded $15.2 million
and tribes in Washington were
awarded $42.4 million.
Under the program, eligi-
ble activities include housing
development, operation and
modernization of existing
housing, crime prevention, and
activities to solve affordable
housing.
— Bulletin staff reports