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News
Blue Mountain Eagle
MOLES
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“As we deliberated, I felt that we
would have found Mr. Moles not
guilty on all counts — but all of a
sudden one young man ... decided
to make a statement that really was
global to the years mentioned in the
trial (not specific to the ‘on or about
March 31st date’). He got everyone
riled up and we did more discussions
with a result of an 8-4 vote of guilty.
Then a woman juror ... started loudly
saying that she wasn’t going to be part
of a ‘hung jury’ like the last trial.”
Gingrich said she didn’t know any-
thing about the first trial. The woman
juror then “truly bullied” two women
into changing their votes from not
guilty to guilty, Gingrich said. The
outcome of the trial “bothered me
greatly,” she said in her letter, and she
wanted something to be done before
sentencing.
“When it’s after 8 p.m. and jurors
were exhausted, some were actively
bullying others, people weren’t think-
ing clearly, this vote was all wrong,”
she said.
Another juror in the second trial,
Marla Compton, said in her Jan. 30
letter to Cramer that she voted not
guilty and stood by that decision.
With that said, Compton noted, “I
do feel that with the amount of infor-
mation and the time of night that there
was pressure from some of the jurors
to just get it over with. I feel that if we
would have adjourned and reconvened
the following day that Moles would
have been found not guilty.”
Glass characterized the situation
described in the two letters as a “clas-
sic deadlocked jury” and referred to an
American Psychological Association
article on how jury pressure could
lead to unfair verdicts. The issue
of a “hung jury” was never men-
tioned during the second trial, Glass
claimed, so the reference to it was a
case of jury misconduct. He asked
that Cramer “make an inquiry of
these jurors on the record.”
Victim’s testimony
Glass also said that the victim at-
tempted multiple times to recant to
the judge, to family members, to the
Department of Human Services and
to the defendant’s attorney.
The victim was not pressured
by family members into writing a
recantation letter to Cramer, Glass
said, but she was pressured by DHS
staff to bring the allegations against
Moles. When the recantation letter
was produced on the morning of the
trial, one or more pages were miss-
ing, Glass said.
Glass said the victim was not be-
lieved by jurors or family members.
“This is a case that involves a girl
who wanted to date inappropriate
and risky boyfriends at a very young
age, with a protective and strict fa-
ther, and who wanted to live with
her more permissive mother, who
was unable to parent due to her drug
abuse problems,” Glass said.
Glass also said the evidence pre-
Wednesday, February 28, 2018
sented at trial did not support a ver-
dict of sexual abuse.
“The court heard and ruled on
the defense motions alleging that all
the prosecution was presenting was
hearsay upon hearsay with no actual
testimony from the purported vic-
tim,” Glass said.
Glass also suggested an op-ed
piece written by Carpenter and
Grant County Deputy District Attor-
ney Mara Houck that appeared in the
Feb. 7 Blue Mountain Eagle across
from an article reporting on Moles’
75-month sentence “may have the
effect of quashing jurors’ concerns
in a controversial case which still
has matters pending before Grant
County Circuit Court.”
State’s response
In his response to Moles’ motion
for a new trial, Carpenter cited State
v. Jones on the protections afforded
juries during deliberation: “There is
a strong policy in Oregon to protect
jury verdicts from attack. Only limit-
ed kinds of juror misconduct justify
a new trial. The kind of misconduct
that will be considered in an attack
on a verdict is misconduct that is
extrinsic to the communications be-
tween jurors during the deliberative
process or that amounts to fraud,
bribery, forcible coercion or any other
obstruction of justice that would sub-
ject the offender to contempt of court
or criminal prosecution.”
The actions described in the two
letters sent to Cramer were examples
of intrinsic communications between
jurors, Carpenter said. As to the in-
stance of a juror bringing up the hung
jury in the first trial, Carpenter noted
that “any error here was invited by
the defendant,” as Glass “repeatedly
referred to the first trial throughout
the second trial.”
Carpenter said that the two letters
came from jurors who voted in the
minority to acquit and “appear to be
venting their disappointment.”
Carpenter also suggested that each
letter provided to the court followed
the publication of a story about the
Moles case in the Jan. 19 Blue Moun-
tain Eagle, stating that the charge
Moles faced carried a 75-month man-
datory minimum sentence.
“Only after being informed of
and considering any punishment that
the court was likely to impose, were
challenges made by a minority of the
jurors,” he said.
Again citing State v. Jones, Car-
penter noted that jurors are not per-
fect and may want to cut delibera-
tions short: “Our system of justice
is not a perfect system, because it
is administered by imperfect human
beings ... Even if (the jury in the
Jones case) abrogated the duty to de-
liberate because its members wished
to go home early, we are not at lib-
erty to invade the sanctity of their
deliberations and order a new trial
because of the countervailing policy
concerns.”
Carpenter characterized Glass’
arguments that the district attorney,
Court Appointed Special Advocates
and DHS staff hid documents from
the defendant as “a rehash of defen-
dant’s argument” at trial. He also not-
ed that Circuit Court Judge Lane W.
Simpson found that no misconduct
had occurred in the first trial.
As for Carpenter and Houck’s op-
ed in the Feb. 7 Blue Mountain Eagle,
Carpenter said it was published “well
after the second trial and had no bear-
ing on jury deliberations or the trial
itself.”
Judge’s ruling
The state’s response to Moles’
motion was submitted to the court
on Feb. 22, the scheduled date of a
hearing on the matter, and Glass was
given 10 minutes to read the 12-page
motion.
Cramer noted that Moles’ motion
did not provide any new evidence
and asked Glass to explain his alle-
gations of prosecutorial misconduct.
Glass said the district attorney al-
lowed the victim to provide differing
testimony during the two trials.
Carpenter said the victim testified
to what she testified, and it was up
to the jury to decide if she was cred-
ible. Glass responded by noting that
prosecuting for the state was not a
“sporting contest.”
Cramer agreed that dealing with
witnesses could be difficult and said
he would take Moles’ motion for a
new trial under advisement.
He issued his opinion Feb. 23.
“Having considered the filings
and applicable law, motions for a
new trial and in arrest of judgment
are denied,” he wrote.
BUDGET
Continued from Page A1
The department provides
the highest rate of police cov-
erage in Eastern Oregon at 2.6
officers per 1,000 residents
and at a cost per officer com-
parable to other cities in the
region. The total cost for po-
lice service in fiscal year 2017
was just over $1 million, with
a net cost to John Day taxpay-
ers of $572,106.
This cost, however, has
increased on average by more
than $10,000 per year, from
$250,000 in 1998 to about
$432,000 in 2017. Spending
on police services exceeded
John Day property tax re-
ceipts in 2017 by 150 percent,
presenting an “unsustainable
fiscal forecast,” the report
states.
Contract service to Can-
yon City was discontinued in
2003. Revenue from contracts
with Prairie City and the
Grant County District Attor-
ney’s Office declined in 2017
and are expected to decline
further in 2018.
“Costs for police services
have grown significantly fast-
er than revenue over the past
20 years, with funding defi-
cits some years in excess of
$367,000 over program reve-
nue,” the report states.
The John Day Emergency
Communications Center is
also facing financial short-
falls. With 5.5 employees on
staff in 2017, the local 911
center saw its highest call
volume ever, increasing by 12
percent from 7,758 in 2016 to
8,657 in 2017.
All users other than the
fire department saw increased
calls for service. The Grant
County Sheriff’s Office saw
the largest increase, as the
number of calls increased 16
percent from 2,566 in 2016 to
2,976 in 2017.
The cost to run John Day’s
911 center increased from
Eagle file photo
John Day Police Chief Richard Gray
$406,100 in fiscal year 2016
to $425,224 in fiscal year
2017. The center’s costs have
increased by about $12,000
per year for the past 20 years
as a result of rising payments
to the state Public Employees
Retirement System, health in-
surance and personnel expen-
ditures, the report states.
Oregon’s 43 dispatch cen-
ters are partially funded by a
75-cent tax on monthly tele-
phone bills, but payments
to John Day fell for seven
straight years, from 2008 to
2015. A significant drop in
these payments in fiscal year
2004, caused by a missed
quarterly payment, was made
up in fiscal year 2008 when
the fund was transitioned to
the state’s Military Depart-
ment, but the payments to
Eagle file photos
John Day Police Department
John Day declined after that
from about $340,000 in 2008
to about $250,000 in 2015
before rising slightly to about
$275,000.
“The net effect of the de-
clining state tax revenue on
top of continuing cost es-
calation from PERS, health
insurance and personnel ex-
penditures has resulted in a
significant cost-revenue im-
balance, one that grew from
approximately $30,000 in
1998 to more than $145,000
today,” the report states.
The city obtained a
A John Day police vehicle
$420,000 payment from the
Legislature through House
Bill 5006 to make up for the
shortfall through the next bi-
ennium, but a ballot measure
intended to provide a regular
funding source was turned
down by Grant County voters.
Last November, the John
Day City Council voted to
discontinue providing 911
call service by June 30, 2019.
Meanwhile, a task force con-
sidered three options – con-
solidate the local 911 center
with Frontier Regional 911 in
Condon, create a joint service
FUTURE
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43229
to support the Grant County Sheriff’s
Office and Oregon State Police accord-
ing to mutual aid agreements.
Third, police scheduling changes
would need to be negotiated with the
Grant County Peace Officers Associa-
tion and coordinated with the sheriff’s
office and state police.
Fourth, the city should evaluate the
operational effectiveness of the smaller
three-person department through 2018
and 2019 and explore the possibility of
converting to a Department of Public
Safety by shifting the emphasis from
traditional law enforcement toward a
broader public safety focus.
Green also provided an update on the
with an adjacent county or re-
place the current center with a
new countywide agency.
“Over the past 20 years,
the annual cost to provide po-
lice and emergency commu-
nications services increased
3.5 times faster than the city’s
property tax base,” the report
stated, a situation that was
unsustainable going into the
future.
“The year 2018 will bring
significant changes for our
public safety departments
as we move forward with
the 9-1-1 Center transition
transition of the city’s 911 center to one
of three options being explored by a 911
Task Force with representatives from the
city, county, Blue Mountain Hospital,
Rural Fire Defense Board and the Forest
Service.
An engineer from Day Wireless made
a site assessment and concluded that
contracting with Frontier Regional 911
in Condon or forming a joint center with
Harney County were technically viable
options, Green said.
Harney County was still interested
in discussing a joint center with Grant
County, Green said, but they were not
interested in relocating here. Harney
County was already in talks with the For-
est Service about creating a joint center,
which would need new equipment and a
new location, he said.
The 911 Task Force created a cost
process and restructuring
our police force to closer
align spending with tax rev-
enue,” the report concludes.
“Though the City faces diffi-
cult financial choices, these
should not overshadow the
exceptional work of our
public safety employees.
Throughout a difficult year,
our staff have maintained
their commitment to mak-
ing our community safe.
They will continue to provide
the highest level of service
possible for our residents and
visitors.”
model that would charge $10 per call for
local user agencies and $25 per call for
ambulance. The balance of the 911 cen-
ter’s cost would be paid by cities and the
county based on assessed property taxes.
According to this model, Grant County
would pay 58 percent, John Day 22 per-
cent, Blue Mountain Hospital 8 percent
and the county’s small towns 11 percent,
Green said.
In the event there is a staff reduction
at John Day’s 911 center, a severance
package would be negotiated with the
Grant County Peace Officers Associa-
tion. To avoid disruptions to current 911
center staff, Green called for agreeing on
a transition option by April.
The 911 User Board, comprised of
17 users such as cities and agencies, will
further discuss options at a March 20
meeting.