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About The Bulletin. (Bend, OR) 1963-current | View Entire Issue (April 13, 2022)
A2 The BulleTin • Wednesday, april 13, 2022 The Bulletin LOCAL, STATE & REGION how to reach us PORTLAND CIRCULATION didn’t receive your paper? start or stop subscription? 541-385-5800 Man sentenced to federal prison for smuggling marijuana out of state PHONE HOURS 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Friday 7 a.m.-11 a.m. saturday-sunday and holidays GENERAL INFORMATION BY MAXINE BERNSTEIN The Oregonian 541-382-1811 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Fri. 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The Bulletin retains ownership and copyright protection of all staff-prepared news copy, advertising copy and news or ad illustrations. They may not be reproduced without explicit prior approval. A firefighter works on the Rosland Road Fire northwest of La Pine in July 2020. Central Oregon to get $41M in federal funding for wildfire resiliency BY MICHAEL KOHN The Bulletin Efforts to reduce wildfire risk and improve forest land- scapes in Central Oregon will receive $41.3 million in funds over the next three years from President Joe Biden’s biparti- san infrastructure bill, accord- ing to a document released by the U.S. Forest Service on Tuesday. The announcement guaran- tees funding for the thinning projects to be conducted on the Deschutes National Forest, an area bordering several large population centers, including Bend, La Pine and Sunriver. Forest restoration projects in the area are designed to pro- tect communities from wild- fire risk by reducing forest fuels. Work will be also be con- ducted on the Crooked River Grasslands. The Forest Service said Central Oregon will receive $4.5 million in funding this year to treat around 5,000 acres of forest and grasslands. A total of $41.3 million will go toward work on 50,000 acres through fiscal year 2024. “Central Oregon is fortu- nate to receive this funding, which will support increased public engagement with our communities, reduce the po- tential for catastrophic wild- fire, make our forests more re- silient to insects and disease at a landscape scale, and protect our critical watershed both for wildlife and sources of com- Oregon weekly coronavirus cases climb 20% BY FEDOR ZARKHIN The Oregonian Nearly 2,400 Ore- gonians tested positive for the coronavirus or were diagnosed with COVID-19 over the last week, 20% more than the previous week and 70% more than the week before that, state data show. The growing case num- bers have been expected, given the highly conta- gious BA.2 omicron sub- variant and the lifting of masking requirements. Whether or not the in- crease in cases — in its second week after nine weeks of decline — is a harbinger of another surge is yet to be seen, though local experts and officials have said a major surge is unlikely. The percentage of tests that come back positive has also increased, from 2.9% April 3 to 4.6% Sun- day. The higher the test positivity rate, the more virus is circulating in the community. Multnomah County accounted for more than 1 in 3 infections identi- fied statewide in the past week. The county’s daily test positivity rate topped 5% three times during that span. It’s unclear if the state has a full picture of the prevalence of disease in Oregon, given the Or- egon Health Authority does not know how many of the cases in its tally originated with widely available at-home tests. People aren’t required to report their results to the state or local health agen- cies, though they are able to online or by calling 866-917-8881. Asked about rising cases last week, the Ore- gon Health Authority ac- knowledged the increase, saying it likely has been driven by the subvari- ant and changes in peo- ple’s behavior. A spokes- man for the agency also pointed to stable hospital- ization numbers which, at 100 occupied beds, re- main at a level last seen before the delta surge. Still, increasing cases usu- ally precede rising hospi- talizations. “It is hard to predict if cases will continue to rise or for how long as there are many factors that play into cases,” Jonathan Modie said in an emailed response to questions. “OHA will continue to monitor case counts and hospitalizations, and re- port developments in the pandemic.” Since it began, Ore- gon has reported 707,512 confirmed or presumed infections and 7,315 deaths. Since April 4, the Oregon Health Author- munity water,” according to a statement from the Deschutes National Forest. The Forest Service states that a primary goal of the for- est treatments is to ensure protection of Central Oregon’s tourism economy. The Deschutes National Forest adds that a “healthy and resilient forest” will re- cover more quickly if wildfires do occur. Central Oregon was the only forest area in Oregon se- lected to be part of the fund- ing. Central Oregon made the list from an initial group of 29 regions that were considered for funding. █ Reporter: 541-617-7818, mkohn@bendbulletin.com A Portland man who helped smuggle more than $2.5 million worth of Ore- gon-grown marijuana out of the state in hand-built freight crates was sentenced Monday to two years and nine months in federal prison. Robert Benjamin Kaw- ika Dawe, 39, worked with two accomplices and oth- ers to ship more than 2,200 pounds of marijuana to New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Georgia, Texas, Arkansas, Illinois and Minnesota and create false cargo bills, ac- cording to prosecutors. They then flew to the destination cities to receive the shipments to help avoid scrutiny and to distribute the marijuana for sale in those states, according to federal prosecutors. When the operation’s warehouse in Vancouver, Washington, closed down, Dawe used his home to store marijuana for distribution, according to court records. On Oct. 16, 2020, for ex- ample, police intercepted a load of marijuana that left Dawe’s home in a rental truck. The truck met up with another truck pulling a 53-foot refrigerated trailer, according to prosecutors. His accomplices loaded two large crates from the rental truck into the trailer. Police stopped both vehi- cles and searched the trailer. They found two crates con- taining 12 cardboard boxes that held more than 600 pounds of vacuum-sealed marijuana bud with mark- ings describing their respec- tive strains, according to court records. The load was destined for San Antonio, Texas, accord- ing to prosecutors. After shipping the mar- ijuana to other states and receiving the crates, Dawe and his accomplices would then fly back on commercial airlines with cash from the drug sales or structure cash deposits through bank ac- counts. Dawe and his two accom- plices created the companies of Transport 1 Logistics and PDX Payments Solutions as fronts to disguise the na- ture and source of their drug trafficking proceeds, accord- ing to court records. During a search of Dawe’s home, agents seized 238 pounds of marijuana and $7,000 in cash. Dawe pleaded guilty in November to conspiracy to traffic in marijuana. “Following his greed and ambition, the defen- dant joined the cadre of black-market marijuana smugglers that unabashedly ignored the rules that apply to everyone else for his own personal and financial gain,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Julia E. Jarrett wrote in a sentenc- ing memo. Jarrett sought a sentence of three years and 10 months for Dawe, while defense law- yer Kevin M. Sali argued for the lesser sentence that the judge imposed. Dawe said he’s now see- ing a drug therapist and is committed to staying sober. He said he had previously viewed his offense as falling in more of a “gray area,” hav- ing seen marijuana “sold on the streets in dispensaries.” Co-defendant Jere- miah David Cruz was sen- tenced in February to a year and nine months in prison. Co-defendant Kyle Cerkoney is awaiting sen- tencing after pleading guilty to conspiracy to traffic in 2,200 pounds or more of marijuana. LOCAL BRIEFING COVID-19 community levels for Central Oregon The Bulletin is no longer publish- ing COVID-19 daily case counts by county. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention moni- tors community lev- els of COVID-19 to help communities decide what preven- tion steps to take based on the latest data. Levels can be low, medium or high and are deter- mined by looking at hospital beds being used, hospital ad- missions and the to- tal number of new COVID-19 cases in an area. The CDC listed the following levels for Central Oregon: Deschutes County: Low Crook County: Low Jefferson County: Low Precautions the CDC recommends for communities with low levels: Stay up to date on vac- cines and get tested if you have symp- toms. ity has reported 101 addi- tional deaths connected to COVID-19. The agency is no longer providing detailed information for each death. Man arrested after police pursuit near La Pine A Salem man suspected of drunken driving led police on a ve- hicle chase near La Pine and later ran into a wooded area and was captured with the aid of a police dog. At about 4 a.m. Tuesday, the Bend Police Department ended a short pursuit of a suspected drunken driver after they at- tempted a traffic stop and the driver refused, the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office said Tues- day in news release. At around 4:28 a.m., a sheriff’s deputy saw the suspect vehicle, driven by Michael Gookin, 43, of Salem, traveling south without lights on U.S. Highway 97 near Vandevert Road. Another deputy set up tire deflation devices and at- tempted a traffic stop, but Gookin did not stop, despite the deflation of one tire, according to the sher- iff’s office. Deputies continued chasing Gookin until they reached La Pine, where they fell back and saw Gookin’s vehicle make a U-turn, according to the sheriff’s office. Gookin then began driving north. Near Burgess Road, a sheriff’s dep- uty performed a driving technique to stop Gookin’s vehicle using the deputy’s own car, at which point Gookin is alleged to have fled into a wooded area to the west. A deputy with a police dog be- gan chasing Gookin through the woods, according to the sheriff’s office. Gookin allegedly refused to cooperate with the officer’s at- tempts to take him into custody, and the dog, named Ronin, bit Gookin, who was then arrested, ac- cording to the sheriff’s office. After his arrest, Gookin was taken to St. Charles Bend for eval- uation, then to the Deschutes County jail on suspicion of at- tempting to elude, driving under the influence of intoxicants, driving while suspended, reckless driving, reckless endangering, felon in pos- session of a restricted weapon, re- sisting arrest and attempted assault on a law enforcement animal. Central Oregon police arrest alleged fentanyl distributor An anonymous tip led to the ar- rest of an alleged Central Oregon fentanyl distributor, police said this week. Dallas James Harper, 33, was ar- rested around 10:30 p.m. Sunday by officers with the multiagency Central Oregon Drug Enforcement Team following a long-term inves- tigation, according to Deschutes County Sheriff’s Sgt. Kent Vander Kamp. Police believe Harper was importing drugs from the Portland area into Crook County. Over the weekend, officers con- ducted surveillance and received a warrant to search Harper’s vehi- cle. Harper was later pulled over by Crook County sheriff’s deputies and his rental car was searched. Investigators allegedly found large amounts of counterfeit phar- maceutical pills made of fentanyl, methamphetamine and heroin. In addition to the controlled sub- stances, a loaded pistol was also seized from Harper, according to police. Harper was arrested on suspi- cion of attempting to distribute fentanyl, possession of fentanyl, attempting to distribute metham- phetamine, possession of meth, at- tempting to distribute heroin and being a felon in possession of a weapon. Harper’s passenger, Justine Durham, was cited on suspicion of possession of a controlled sub- stance. Harper was jailed at the Crook County Jail. He’s scheduled to be arraigned Friday. — Bulletin staff reports
