News
Man charged with domestic
violence and kidnapping
woman in different locations
around Grant County such as
Dog Creek, John Day Fossil
A Mt. Vernon man is being Beds National Monument and
charged with multiple counts Sagaser’s home.
of domestic violence, includ-
In addition, Sagaser was
ing kidnapping, strangulation indicted Friday in a separate
and assault.
case for unlawful possession
Matthew Eric Sagaser, 31, of methamphetamine, criminal
appeared in Grant County Cir- forfeiture and felon in posses-
cuit Court Friday for a hearing sion of a restricted weapon —
on a grand jury indictment.
metal knuckles.
He was indicted on 29
He was arrested last week
counts of domestic violence. in Canyon City, after the Grant
The charges are second-de- &RXQW\ 6KHULII¶V 2I¿FH DQG
JUHH NLGQDSSLQJ ¿YH FRXQWV John Day Police Department
of coercion, nine counts of worked together to investigate
fourth-degree assault, strangu- the reported incidents.
lation, four counts of menacing
According to the indict-
and nine counts of recklessly ment, Sagaser allegedly kid-
endangering another person.
napped the woman by secretly
The alleged abuse occurred FRQ¿QLQJKHULQDSODFHZKHUH
since July against the same she was not likely to be found.
He reportedly committed coer-
cion by threatening the woman
to not leave an area, not tell
hospital staff about the nature
of her injuries and not tell a
third-party about the cause of
her injuries.
The woman was injured by
Sagaser allegedly strangling
her, striking her head against
concrete, head-butting, kicking
and elbowing her and shooting
at her with a CO2 airsoft gun
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Sagaser is due back in court
next month for a plea hearing.
He will either plead not guilty
and a trial date will be set, enter
a guilty plea and settle the case
or waive his right to a speedy
trial and set another hearing.
He remains in custody on
$85,000 bail.
By Kyle Spurr
Blue Mountain Eagle
Patient escapes mental health facility
By Kyle Spurr
Blue Mountain Eagle
JOHN DAY — A convict-
ed sex offender from Jackson
County was found by police in a
ditch near Dog Creek off High-
way 26 Sunday evening after he
escaped from the Juniper Ridge
Acute Care Facility.
Dusty Brian Korner, 31,
Central Point, broke through
the fence at the facility on Ford
Road just after 6 p.m., Saturday.
John Day Police and employ-
ees at the facility searched for
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Oregon State Police even-
tually located him at 7:20 p.m.,
Sunday.
“He escaped and we believed
he just camped out in the woods
by the Dog Creek area on High-
way 26,” John Day Police Sgt.
Damon Rand said. “Nothing
has been reported broken into
or stolen.”
The escape is the third
known incident since the facili-
ty opened in 2013.
The facility holds 11 rooms
for patients experiencing vary-
ing levels of mental crisis. The
patients are either court-man-
dated to be there or voluntarily
check-in.
Korner, who escaped over
the weekend for more than 24
hours, was admitted to the facil-
ity by court order. Grant County
District Attorney Jim Carpenter
is reviewing the case for possi-
ble charges.
The last escape occurred in
January when a 25-year-old man
also broke through the fence,
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Kimberly Lindsay, executive
director of Community Coun-
seling Solutions, the company
that operates Juniper Ridge
Acute Care Facility, said the
facility has been in the process
of designing and building a new
fence. A purchase order was
submitted in early August and
the new fence was supposed to
be installed in September, but
the contractor said it was back-
logged and unable to be put in
until late October or early No-
vember.
“It was just
sickening be-
cause had the
fence went in
in September,
this
would
not have hap-
Dusty
pened,” Lind-
Brian
say said.
Korner
The cur-
rent fence is
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non-compacted ground. Por-
tions of the fence are leaning
and weakened.
Community
Counseling
6ROXWLRQV UHFHQWO\ ¿OHG D ODZ-
suit against Baarstad’s Gen-
eral Contracting, the Pendle-
ton-based general contractor
who built the facility, for failing
to property compact the soil
under the fence. The $125,000
lawsuit claims Baarstad’s
breached the contract and was
negligent.
Korner likely slid through
a broken part of the fence, or
put some leverage on the fence
and broke it to escape. Unlike a
prison yard, Lindsay said, staff
does not always supervise the
patients.
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Korner had escaped, they im-
mediately contacted the police,
checked the safety of the other
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family.
“We are so sick of making
these phone calls to the family,”
Lindsay said. “It’s embarrass-
ing. The family worked pretty
hard to get this person in, and
you feel like in that moment
you failed.”
Korner was convicted of sex
abuse in 2002 in Jackson Coun-
ty. In 2011, he was charged
with failing to report as a sex
offender. His criminal record
also shows charges of interfer-
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and disorderly conduct in 2010.
Lindsay said she under-
stands the local community’s
concerns. She admits she can-
not defend her decision to let
months pass before having
the fence replaced, or explain
why there have been multiple
escapes in the facility’s three
years of operation.
“I wish I had the ability to
convey the sadness, under-
standing and wanting the com-
munity’s trust and their faith,”
Lindsay said. “While we do a
lot of great things and while we
have these moments where we
take steps back, we are working
in overdrive to address this and
we just feel horrible.”
Local law enforcement is
taking the escapes seriously
because they can pose a public
safety risk.
The police and facility are
continually working to better
handle such incidents.
“That is something we are
WU\LQJ WR JHW ¿JXUHG RXW´ 6JW
Rand said. “It is a public safety
concern.”
Cindy’s
Grooming
Hours
Mon. 10-2
Tues. 9-5
Wed. 10-2
Other times available by
appointment only
150 Dayton, John Day
Call or text Cindy Legg for more details
541.620.0187
WANTED
Information leading to conviction of
trespassers and/or poachers on Silvies Valley Ranch
00
$2,500
REWARD
Approximately the first of September, a nice mule deer buck was killed
and left to rot on our ranch. Last year, four poachers were caught and
prosecuted, and four other dead elk were found rotting. Please help us
catch trespassers and poachers who have no respect for private property
rights and who give all hunters a bad name. If you legally wound an ani-
mal that comes onto any of our property, please come to ranch headquar-
ters at Bridge Creek and we will help you find and clean it at no charge.
Otherwise, do not go onto our property unless accompanied by a Silvies
Valley Ranch associate. We will press charges, sue for damages, and are
actively patrolling our property with ATVs, by horseback, and videocams.
CALL
Silvies, Oregon
Sheriff Glenn Palmer 541-575-1131
Sheriff Dave Ward 541-573-6156
Colby Marshall 541-573-5150 x110
www.silviesvalleyranch.com
1-800-SILVIES
Wednesday, October 14, 2015
C OPS &
C OURTS
Arrests and citations in
the Blue Mountain Eagle are
taken from the logs of law
enforcement agencies. Every
effort is made to report the
court disposition of arrest
cases.
Circuit Court
CANYON CITY – The
Grant County Circuit Court
UHSRUWHG WKH IROORZLQJ ¿QHV
and judgments:
• Andrew Franklin Wed-
ding, 29, pleaded guilty to
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of intoxicants. He was sen-
tenced to jail for 15 days,
bench probation for 18
months and 40 hours com-
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$1,800. His driver’s license
was suspended for three
years. The court dismissed
one count of criminal driving
while suspended or revoked.
• Darren Allen Swog-
ger, 48, pleaded guilty to
fourth-degree assault. He
was sentenced to jail for one
day, bench probation for 18
months and 50 hours com-
PXQLW\VHUYLFH+HZDV¿QHG
$400 and ordered to have
no contact with the victim.
The court dismissed counts
for strangulation and harass-
ment.
Grant County Sheriff
CANYON CITY – The
Grant County Sheriff’s Of-
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for the week of Oct. 2-8:
• Concealed handgun li-
censes: 7
• Average inmates: 13
• Bookings: 7
• Releases: 5
• Arrests: 1
• Citations: 2
• Fingerprints: 6
• Civil papers: 8
• Warrants processed: 6
• Asst./welfare check: 5
• Search and Rescue: 2
• Terrence Moon, 24,
Canyon City, cited for failure
to carry proof of insurance.
• Joseph Wegner, 59,
Gold Beach, cited for fail-
ure to perform the duties of
driver.
A5
Grant County
enforcing
foreclosures
ing to help the assessor’s of-
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Since Carpenter was
)RUWKH¿UVWWLPHLQPRUH elected last year, he indi-
than a decade, the Grant cated he would be willing
County District Attorney’s to help.
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“I’m not an attorney. I
$VVHVVRU¶V 2I¿FH LQ FRO- can’t go before the judge,”
lecting owed property taxes Burton said. “We have to
throughout the county.
have the district attorney
There are about 48 ac- as our legal counsel for the
counts on the 2015 tax fore- foreclosure process.”
closure list. The delinquent
Carpenter said he has
taxes for those accounts are previously practiced civil
about $400,000.
law and is comfortable re-
The names of the people viewing the cases.
on the foreclosure list will
Previous district attor-
be published in the Oct. 21 neys may not have had the
edition of the Blue Moun- civil law experience, he
tain Eagle. Once the names said.
are published, District At-
Multiple notices have
torney Jim Carpenter will been sent to those who owe
GHFLGH LI KH ZLOO ¿OH MXGJ- property taxes, according to
ments against the people, WKH DVVHVVRU¶V RI¿FH :KHQ
resulting in foreclosure.
names publicly appear next
$IWHUDMXGJPHQWLV¿OHG week in the newspaper, Bur-
in Grant County Circuit ton said, it should not come
Court, the homeowner has as a surprise. If people do
two years to redeem the not pay before Oct. 21, a
property before it is fore- 5 percent extra tax will be
added to the owed amount.
closed on.
“We have been warning
County assessor Lane
Burton said there has not folks for a long time,” Bur-
been a district attorney will- ton said.
By Kyle Spurr
Blue Mountain Eagle
Pro Saw
Shop and
a Whole
Lot More
02131
Blue Mountain Eagle
A TTENTION G RANT
C OUNTY
V ETERANS :
Did you know a service-connected
disabled veteran is entitled to
FREE use of Oregon State Parks?
See your Grant County Veteran Services
Officer today for more information,
located at Grant County Courthouse.
Open Mon, Wed, & Fri, 10 am - 4 pm,
by appointment. Call 541-575-1631