A4 The BulleTin • Tuesday, april 6, 2021
Wirkkala: ‘I feel like I’ve become a stronger person because of this,’ he says in interview
Continued from A1
The state, represented by the Oregon Depart-
ment of Justice, asked jurors to convict because
Wirkkala’s account, as prosecutor Kristen Hoff-
meyer said repeatedly, “simply could not be be-
lieved.”
All 12 jurors declined requests to explain their
votes. One said only the state hadn’t made its
case.
Representatives of Ryder’s family also declined
to comment.
Many of the witnesses were back from the first
trial and offered, in large part, the same testi-
mony, the facts of the case remaining essentially
the same.
Wirkkala and Ryder were friends, though not
good friends, having only hung out a handful
of times. Wirkkala and his then-girlfriend tried
to wrangle friends to attend a Super Bowl party
at the Hideaway Tavern in Bend, but in the end,
everyone backed out except Ryder.
Wirkkala testified he drank throughout that
day — before and throughout the game and
then back at his house, where he and Ryder
drank a case of Pabst Blue Ribbon beer.
Wirkkala’s girlfriend, her son and her nephew
went to bed between 10 and 10:30 p.m. Around
2:30 a.m. they were awoken by a shotgun blast in
the living room.
Police arrived to find Ryder dead on the floor
inside, Wirkkala sobbing nearby.
Then-Deschutes County District Attorney
Patrick Flaherty charged Wirkkala with murder,
and the case went to trial in 2014.
Wirkkala always said he awoke that night
to Ryder sexually assaulting him. He retrieved
his shotgun from his bedroom, returned to
the living room and ordered Ryder to leave.
Marijuana
Continued from A1
Redmond city code forbids
giving business licenses to
companies that violate federal
or state law, and marijuana is
still illegal federally, despite be-
ing allowed within Oregon.
“If the feds legalize mari-
juana, then guess what? We
no longer have a prohibition
against giving them a business
license,” Endicott told The Bul-
letin. “Then it’s, where do you
put a marijuana business?”
U.S. Senate Majority Leader
Chuck Schumersaid recently
Venues
Continued from A1
In addition, a coalition of
events groups sent a letter to
the governor’s office seeking
inclusion in reopening plans
like churches, restaurants
or other gathering spaces.
Among the organizations
pushing the governor for guid-
ance was the Les Schwab Am-
phitheater.
Les Schwab Amphitheater
Director Marney Smith said
the letter also asked the gover-
nor’s office to allow for consis-
tent “ramp up time” to book
artists and create events, that
venues be allowed to operate at
full capacity with appropriate
safety measures 30 days after a
county hits the lower-risk cate-
gory and the vaccine has been
made available to all adults. If
capacity restrictions are neces-
sary, to base these on science
and data “rather than a simple
integer.”
Churches, retail stores or
grocery stores are allowed to
open at 75% capacity at the
lower-risk category. Currently,
at the lower risk level, indoor
Garrett Andrews/The Bulletin
Luke Wirkkala greets supporters outside the Deschutes County jail following his acquittal Monday in his retrial
for a murder charge.
Wirkkala said he racked a shell to show Ryder
he was serious but instead a “twisted smirk”
crossed Ryder’s face and he charged Wirkkala,
forcing him to fire.
that the U.S. Senate will push
to lift the federal restrictions
on marijuana.
Redmond city staff drafted
a series of dispensary regula-
tions, which will be discussed
by city councilors Tuesday.
These proposed regulations —
which can be found at the Red-
mond City Council website —
include not allowing marijuana
businesses in residential zones.
These businesses must be far-
ther than 250 feet from any
publicly owned facility like a
park, transit center or day care
facility, and more than 1,000
feet from a school or another
and outdoor entertainment
establishments can have 50%
occupancy and must close at
midnight. Deschutes County is
currently in the moderate-risk
category.
“We’re responsible operators
with plans in place to mitigate
risk of transmission: additional
cleaning measures, additional
entry and egress lines, addi-
tional sanitation stations and
bathrooms, added signage,
vaccinated staff, masks on all
venue/event staff,” said Beau
Eastes, Les Schwab Amphithe-
ater marketing director. “We
truly are the best industry to
handle the management of
crowds safely.”
But a follow-up email sent
by Alex Campbell, regional
solutions coordinator for Ore-
gon’s Southern Region, to Da-
vid Schmitz, executive direc-
tor of the Oregon Shakespeare
Festival , provides different
information. “I would encour-
age your event planners to plan
for contingencies, but it is not
unreasonable to be planning
more “normal” events for the
second half of the summer
— perhaps earlier,” Campbell
marijuana business, the pro-
posed regulations state.
The proposed regulations
would also require marijuana
businesses to use an air filtration
and ventilation system to con-
fine the plant’s odor to within
the store as much as possible.
In the recent past, Endicott
has said that he’s in favor of
allowing dispensaries in Red-
mond, but only if the federal
government legalizes it nation-
wide.
Lindsey Pate, CEO of craft
cannabis company Glass
House Grown and president of
the Cascade Cannabis Associ-
said in the email, which was
forwarded to The Bulletin by
Smith.
“That is specifically what we
were asking for, is acknowl-
edgement that we have to plan
ahead,” Smith said, “and that
we’re going to be mobilizing
and taking some — I don’t
know if leap of faith is the right
way to say it, but we’re going
to take some educated guesses
based on scientific data on
what is going to be safe mov-
ing forward based on vaccine
availability and infection rates
and hospitalization rates and
all that fun stuff. … We’ve got
to plan in April for July. That’s
still cutting it pretty close, so
we’re happy to have acknowl-
edgement of the timeline it
takes to mobilize these events
and the value that they have
with the community. That
made me a little lighter on my
feet this morning.”
With booking for late sum-
mer events already well under-
way in nearby states , many are
worried Oregon will be passed
over, and that the damage to
reputations could be cata-
strophic.
The original jury did not accept that explana-
tion and voted to convict. In 2018, the Oregon
Court of Appeals vacated his conviction.
It’s customary for courtroom attendees to
ation advocacy group, said she
finds the City Council’s further
discussion on marijuana en-
couraging.
“I don’t know if we’re in the
right position to do a retail
store in Redmond, but if I had
the money, I would 100% jump
on that,” said Pate, who lives
outside Redmond.
It is unlikely that the City
Council will take final action
on marijuana business regula-
tions at the Tuesday meeting,
said city spokesperson Heather
Cassaro.
e e
Reporter: 541-617-7854,
jhogan@bendbulletin.com
e e
Reporter: 541-383-0325, gandrews@bendbulletin.com
Cecil L. Curry
of Redmond, OR
Sharon Lee Doggett
of Terrebonne, OR
July 25, 1945 -
March 30, 2021
Arrangements:
Arrangements Entrusted
To: Redmond Memorial
Chapel, 541.548.3219:
Please visit www.red-
mondmemorial.com to
View Obituary and Service
Information when avail-
able or to leave a thought,
memory, or condolence for
the family.
Services:
Services will be planned
for a later date
Contributions may be
made to:
Local Charity of your
Choice
May 6, 1946 -
March 27, 2021
Arrangements:
Autumn Funerals -
Redmond is honored to
serve the family. 541-504-
9485. Condolences may be
conveyed to the family at
www.autumnfunerals.net
Services:
Service will be held at a
later date.
“We’re not financially able to
move forward with planning
a normal festival until we have
some sort of reassurance from
Oregon that there is at least a
possibility that we can be look-
ing somewhat back-to-nor-
mal once all adults have had a
chance to have that vaccine,”
said Crista Munro, executive
director of the Sisters Folk Fes-
tival.
Liz Merah, press secretary
for Brown, said via email that
the state recently expanded
outdoor entertainment capac-
ity by removing hard caps and
transitioning to the 50% limit
reflected in the lower-risk cat-
egory.
“The current risk level
framework was designed to
be sustainable over the long
term while we work to stop
the spread of COVID-19, and
it will remain in place for the
time being,” she wrote in the
email. “We will continue to
assess the situation and plan
for what is next should case
numbers decrease and vaccine
availability increase.”
e e
stand when a jury enters and exits a court-
room. On Monday, after Deschutes County
Circuit Judge Randy Miller excused the jury
from service, Wirkkala was first to stand. He
steepled his fingers before his chest and rocked
his hands back and forth, as if saying thank
you.
Miller told the onetime defendant: “Mr. Wirk-
kala, you are free to go.”
From there, guards transported Wirkkala
from Redmond back to the Deschutes County
jail in Bend. They wheeled out a tub containing
Wirkkala’s belongings, including the flip phone
seized when he was arrested in 2013.
Around a dozen well-wishers were there to
greet him and take pictures. Many had sup-
ported him through his first trial. The party in-
tended to caravan to Portland, where Wirkkala
hoped to eat a “real” meal for dinner after years
of jail food.
As for what’s after that, Wirkkala said, “life
begins at 40.” He’d like to resume writing and
photography, which he pursued prior to his con-
viction. He hopes to publish a book he started
in prison about his experience being wrongfully
accused.
He thanked God, his family and friends who
supported him, his attorneys Thad Betz and Joel
Wirtz, and the jury.
He said that while locked up, he committed to
pursuing positive growth.
“I told myself if I didn’t come out of this ex-
perience a better person than when I went in,
then I’ve failed,” he said. “I feel like I’ve become
a stronger person because of this. And I’ll never
take anything for granted, that’s for absolute
sure.”
OBITUARY DEADLINE
Call to ask about our deadlines
541-385-5809
Monday-Friday 10am-3pm
Email: obits@bendbulletin.com
OBITUARY
Norma
Wells-Young
February 26, 1939 - February 15, 2021
Norma Wells-Young, 82, passed
away February 15th in Middleburg
Florida. She was born in Plano,
Texas on Feb. 26, 1939 and
graduated from North Texas
State University & had a career in
fi nance as well as being an educator for the deaf.
She fi nished her career as an educati on specialist in
the California penal system.
Norma was an avid quilter, dedicati ng much of her
ti me and resources making quilts for the chemo
pati ents at St. Charles Hospital as well as a great
many quilts for the Mt. Bachelor community quilt
program. She also made many Quilts of Valor.
Norma is survived by the enti re Young family as
well as her many friends.
Bulletin reporter Suzanne Roig
contributed to this story.
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