NEWS
BlueMountainEagle.com
Wednesday, May 1, 2019
A5
Repeat meth charges lead to prison time
By Richard Hanners
Blue Mountain Eagle
Two John Day residents
who were busted twice in
less than a year on metham-
phetamine-related charges
are heading to prison.
Olle L. Starnes, 49, and
Elizabeth C. Pace, 41, both
pleaded guilty to numerous
felony charges April 10 and
were sentenced April 25.
The first bust took down
10 people on April 28, 2018.
The warrants served at two
properties in Mt. Vernon
and John Day were the cul-
mination
of an ongo-
ing inves-
tigation of
a
covert
drug opera-
tion that had
Olle L.
lasted more
Starnes
than a year,
according to
the Grant County Sheriff’s
Office.
“During the searches,
methamphetamine, money,
drug paraphernalia, stolen
firearms and vehicles were
among some of the things
seized at the residences,”
the sheriff’s
office said at
the time.
The state
alleged at
the
time
that
the
Elizabeth
home where
C. Pace
Starnes and
Pace lived
on Highway 26 west of John
Day was subject to criminal
forfeiture.
Starnes was charged
with 11 drug-related counts,
including seven felonies, in
that first arrest. Pace was
charged with eight drug-re-
lated counts, including three
felonies.
Local law enforcement
agencies arrested Starnes,
Pace and a third person on
March 11 following under-
cover operations by the
Grant County Interagency
Narcotics Team.
According to court doc-
uments, Starnes pleaded
guilty April 10 to six fel-
ony charges, including two
counts each of delivery of
meth, unlawful possession
of meth and delivery of
meth within 1,000 feet of a
school.
The crimes were commit-
ted in February and March.
Four additional counts were
dismissed, and criminal for-
feiture was ruled allowed.
Circuit Court Judge Wil-
liam D. Cramer Jr. sen-
tenced Starnes to a total of
132 months in prison with a
net time of 45 months, along
with three years post-prison
supervision and $1,950 in
fees and fines. His driver’s
license was suspended for
six months.
Pace pleaded guilty to
four felony counts, includ-
ing delivery of meth, deliv-
ery of meth within 1,000
feet of a school and two
counts of unlawful posses-
sion of meth.
The crimes were com-
mitted in February. Seven
additional counts were dis-
missed, and criminal forfei-
ture was ruled allowed.
Cramer sentenced Pace
to a total of 42 months in
prison with a net time of 24
months, along with three
years post-prison supervi-
sion and $1,800 in fines and
fees. Her driver’s license
was also suspended for six
months.
inal mischief on Middle Fork
Lane in Bates.
April 23: Received a report
of an unattended death on Rit-
ter Road in Ritter.
April 23: Advised of shots
fired from a caller in down-
town John Day.
April 24: Received a cus-
todial interference report from
Mt. Vernon.
April 24: Advised of a sus-
picious person on Patterson
Drive in Canyon City.
April 25: Received a report
of a dispute on North Moun-
tain Boulevard in Mt. Vernon.
April 25: Advised of a dis-
pute on McCallum Street in
Prairie City.
April 26: Received a report
of a suicidal person at a farm
near Monument.
April 26: Advised of litter-
ing at the Canyon Mountain
gravel pit in Canyon City.
April 27: Received a report
of an unattended death in
Dayville.
April 27: Advised by 911
call of a prowler on South
Bridge Street in Prairie City.
• John Day ambulance
April 22: Transported a
patient to the airport in John
Day.
April 24: Paged for an
elderly man on Hansen Lane
in Mt. Vernon.
April 24: Responded to a
senior home in Prairie City for
a 50-year-old woman.
April 25: Dispatched to
Southwest First Street in John
Day for a woman with pain.
April 26: Responded to
Highway 26 in Mt. Vernon for
a man with abdominal pain.
April 26: Dispatched to
Northeast Dayton Street in
John Day for an 85-year-old
man with pain.
April 26: Responded to a
senior home in Prairie City for
an 87-year-old woman who
had fallen and injured her hip.
• Monument fire
April 24: Received a 911
call about a structure fire on
Highway 402 in Monument.
COPS AND COURTS
Arrests and citations in the
Blue Mountain Eagle are taken
from the logs of law enforce-
ment agencies. Every effort is
made to report the court dispo-
sition of arrest cases.
Grant County Circuit
Court
A charge of second-degree
intimidation against Evan P.
Sledge, 41, The Dalles, com-
mitted Aug. 18 was dismissed
April 22 following a motion
by the district attorney that
conditions of a diversion
agreement were met.
Charges against Thelma E.
Dunkelberer, 75, John Day,
of first-degree theft allegedly
committed Oct. 24 and
third-degree theft allegedly
committed Jan. 13 were dis-
missed April 22 following a
motion by the district attor-
ney that the defendant lacked
the fitness to proceed and was
unlikely to regain the fitness
needed to proceed in the fore-
seeable future.
A misdemeanor charge
against Thomas V. Busby, 47,
Prairie City, of menacing con-
stituting domestic violence
was dismissed April 23 fol-
lowing a motion by the district
attorney that the victim was
uncooperative.
Grant County Sheriff
The Grant County Sheriff’s
Office reported the following
for the week of April 24:
Concealed
handgun
licenses: 17
Average inmates: 15
Bookings: 7
Releases: 6
Arrests: 0
Citations: 0
Fingerprints: 6
Civil papers: 12
Warrants processed: 1
Asst./welfare check: 1
Search and rescue: 1
Justice Court
• Exceeding speed limit:
Mendy L. Hillman, 49, John
Day, April 3, 94/65 zone, fined
$440; Latasha L. Smarr, 26,
Prairie City, March 9, 75/65
zone, fined $85.
• Driving uninsured: Chris-
topher J. Keith, 38, Prairie
City, March 22, fined $500.
• Driving while suspended:
Christopher J. Keith, 38, Prai-
rie City, March 22, fined
$1,000.
• Failure to renew registra-
tion: Christopher J. Keith, 38,
Prairie City, March 22, fined
$250.
• Jacob C. Brown, 30, John
Day, was convicted April 22
of having a dog as a public
nuisance. He was ordered to
pay $1,167 in fines, fees and
restitution.
Dispatch
John Day dispatch worked
129 calls during the week of
April 22-28, including:
• John Day Police
Department
April 22: Received a 911
call about a suicidal person at
a mobile home park on West
Main Street in John Day.
April 23: Responded to
a loud noise complaint at a
mobile home park on West
Main Street in John Day.
April 24: Received a report
about a theft in John Day.
April 24: Responded to a
drug store in John Day for a
shoplifting report.
April 24: Advised of a sus-
picious person at a storage
business on West Main Street
in John Day.
April 25: Followed up on
a theft report at a business in
the airport industrial park in
John Day.
April 25: Received a report
of an assault in John Day.
April 25: Took a report
from a victim of a vehicle vs.
bicycle crash in John Day.
April 25: Advised of an
intoxicated person on North-
west Fifth Avenue in John
Day.
April 25: Received a
report of suspicious circum-
stances on Bridge Street in
John Day.
April 26: Responded to a
mobile home park on West
Main Street in John for a
child abuse report. Todd M.
Winegar, 42, Mt. Vernon, was
arrested and charged with
second-degree strangulation
and fifth-degree harassment.
April 27: Following a traf-
fic stop on Highway 26 in east
John Day, Judah A. Lock-
wood, 30, Klamath Falls,
was cited for speeding, 50/25
zone.
April 27: Received a
report of drug activity at the
Grant County Fairgrounds.
• Oregon State Police
April 27: Advised of illegal
hunting near Dale.
• Grant County Sheriff’s
Office
April 22: Advised of crim-
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