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Wirkkala acquitted in 2nd murder trial
Imprisoned for 8 years, judge
tells Wirkkala he’s a free man:
‘It feels a little surreal,’ he says
BY GARRETT ANDREWS
The Bulletin
REDMOND — First, he was called an ac-
cused murderer. Then, a convicted murderer
and state prison inmate working on a life sen-
tence.
On Monday, Luke Anton Wirkkala learned
he’d earned a new title.
Free man.
“I’m just trying to take it all in,” Wirkkala said
minutes after emerging from the Deschutes
County jail, a smile overtaking his face. “It feels
a little surreal. Eight long years.”
A half-hour earlier, a jury found Wirkkala,
40, not guilty in the death of David Andrew
Ryder, a houseguest Wirkkala had shot at close
range with a pump-action shotgun in 2013. Ju-
rors also acquitted Wirkkala on lesser counts
of first-degree manslaughter and second-de-
gree manslaughter. They reached all verdicts by
votes of 10-2.
It was Wirkkala’s second murder trial for Ry-
der’s death — he was convicted in 2014, but the
Oregon Court of Appeals ordered a retrial be-
cause the original jury heard portions of a po-
lice interview after Wirkkala had invoked his
right to an attorney.
The retrial in a makeshift courtroom at the
Deschutes County Fair & Expo Center was a
dry and, at times, emotional four-week affair.
The defense argued Wirkkala acted in
self-defense when he shot Ryder.
Luke Wirkkala,
seen March
19 during his
retrial, had
been accused
of killing a
houseguest
in 2013. He
was acquitted
of all charges
Monday.
Dean Guernsey/
The Bulletin file
See Wirkkala / A4
MARIJUANA REGULATION
STREAM TEAM
Wyden lauds students who pushed for ‘wild and scenic’ status for Oregon rivers
Dispens aries,
still illegal in
Redmond, on
city’s agenda
Officials want to have rules
ready in case U.S. legalizes pot
BY JACKSON HOGAN
The Bulletin
Recreational marijuana dispensaries are
still illegal within Redmond city limits. But
the City Council is already moving ahead
to create regulations for where they can be
located, in case that changes.
The Redmond City Council will discuss
time, place and manner regulations for
marijuana dispensaries at a special meeting
at 6 p.m. Tuesday. Retail recreational mari-
juana sale is a topic that has been hotly de-
bated among city councilors.
Mayor George Endicott said he asked city
staff to draft dispensary regulations, despite
marijuana outlets being illegal in Redmond,
as he believes the federal government will
legalize the drug nationwide soon.
See Marijuana / A4
BY MICHAEL KOHN
The Bulletin
O
n the banks of Tumalo Creek
on Monday, Sen. Ron Wyden,
D-Ore., declared the success
of a grassroots campaign to
designate thousands of miles
of rivers and creeks in Oregon as “wild
and scenic,” protecting them in perpetuity.
Surrounded by Bend-area students
that nominated rivers in Central Oregon,
Wyden told reporters that the process to
have the River Democracy Act passed is
on a “fast track.”
If passed, the legislation will add
nearly 4,700 miles of rivers and
streams in Oregon to the National
Wild and Scenic Rivers System, a spe-
cial designation that protects rivers in
the same way that a national park pro-
tects a designated area of land.
Wyden and Oregon’s junior senator,
Jeff Merkley, also a Democrat, rallied
Oregonians over a year ago to nomi-
nate their favorite rivers for inclusion in
the act. More than 15,000 nominations
poured in for what Wyden said was one
of this country’s largest grassroots cam-
paigns.
“This is how political change starts in
Oregon,” said Wyden, flanked by two sev-
enth graders from Pacific Crest Middle
Sen. Ron Wyden, center, speaks with
students from Pacific Crest Middle
School and Bend High School and other
community members about the nomination
of Tumalo Creek as a protected stream under
the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.
Dean Guernsey/The Bulletin
School and three seniors at Bend High
School. “It’s not top-down. It’s grassroots
up, and these incredible people are prov-
ing it.”
The Pacific Crest students were among
those who nominated Tumalo Creek for
protection.
Senator talks vaccine passports, guns, tax credits in virtual meeting
Vaccines, gun control and economic
issues were all addressed in a virtual town
hall held by Sen. Ron Wyden on Monday
for residents of Deschutes County.
In a public Zoom meeting, the issue of
whether the COVID-19 vaccine would
become federally mandated surfaced
multiple times. There were also questions
about the probability of a “vaccine pass-
port” — which would allow vaccinated
individuals to participate in certain parts
of society — coming to fruition.
BY BRIAN MCELHINEY
For The Bulletin
Independent venues in Oregon are frus-
trated by a lack of guidance from state
government about how or when they can
reopen safely and feel they are not being
treated fairly.
On Wednesday, members of the Inde-
pendent Venue Coali-
tion, a lobbying group
consisting of venues
and promoters from
Occupancy limit
across the state, sat in
for venues at
Oregon’s lower-risk
on session with Leah
category, whereas
Horner, jobs and econ-
churches, retail
omy adviser to Gov.
stores and grocery
Kate Brown, and state
stores can open at
epidemiologist Dr.
75% capacity.
Dean Sidelinger. Co-
alition founder Jim
Brunberg, who co-owns Portland venues
Mississippi Studios, Revolution Hall and Po-
laris Hall, said the format of the meeting was
changed at the last minute, and the coalition
was not able to present any information.
“It was originally scheduled as a meeting
but was changed into a webinar at the last
minute,” he said. “None of the plans — we
weren’t allowed to present any of the plans we
as an industry put considerable time into.”
50%
See Rivers / A13
WYDEN TOWN HALL
BY BRENNA VISSER
The Bulletin
Venues feel
shut out of
Oregon’s
opening plans
For Christie Cronin, this has become
an issue as she thinks about her own son,
who had severe reactions to vaccines.
“I have big reservations about vaccines
being mandated because they don’t work
all the same for all people,” Cronin said .
See Town hall / A13
TODAY’S
WEATHER
Mostly sunny
High 69, Low 34
Page A13
INDEX
Business
Classifieds
Comics
A11
A14
A9-10
Dear Abby
Editorial
Horoscope
A7
A8
A7
Kid Scoop
Local/State
Lottery
A12
A2-3
A6
Obituaries
Puzzles
Sports
A4
A10
A5-7
The Bulletin
An Independent Newspaper
We use
recycled
newsprint
Vol. 119, No. 82, 14 pages, 1 section
DAILY
See Venues / A4
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