July 12, 2019
T he C olumbia P ress
Homeless: police target illegal camping
Continued from Page 1
against camping outside legal
campgrounds.
Last weekend, dozens of illegal
campsites were visited by officers
from Warrenton Police, Clatsop
County Sheriff and the Port of
Astoria.
Don Hall, owner of L&D Race
Tech on Marlin Avenue, has be-
come so accustomed to the thefts
he no longer calls police. He
sends an email listing the nightly
crimes to the chief.
“Last night they tore the end off
a $500 winch motor that belongs
to a customer and now I’m liable
for that,” Hall said Wednesday.
“The night before they got into a
Jet Ski. They’ve taken batteries
out of trailers, dismantled pro-
pane tanks.”
He believes urban cities are
transporting problem people to
Clatsop County and wishes the
state would stop the payment of
so much money for bottle, can
and plastic returns.
“We want to feed everybody
… but these aren’t people from
Clatsop County who are down
on their luck,” Hall said. “These
are criminals who have chosen
to live outside. They’re on drugs
and they steal.”
Warrenton seldom has enough
officers on duty to monitor the
camps, Workman said. Walk-
ing half a mile into the woods to
roust a homeless camp takes offi-
cers away from their vehicles and
can leave the rest of the city with
little or no police presence.
Following is a recount of inci-
dents from the past two weeks.
June 26: Sgt. Jim Pierce con-
tacts several people living illegal-
ly in the woods near Ocean Crest
Chevrolet. Jared Cupit, 44, is
trespassed from the location.
June 27: Officer Chris Beem
spots Cupit walking into the
wooded area where he’d been
trespassed the day before. James
Harrod, 34, is found camping
nearby and given 72 hours to
gather his belongings and go.
July 2, 6:36 a.m.: After re-
ceiving requests from businesses
on Marlin Avenue, police conduct
extra patrols. Officer Josh Holla-
way spots Paul Lee Roebuck, 47,
charging electronic devices using
an outlet near Gannaway Bros.
An illegal campsite behind Ocean Crest Chevrolet is littered with
debris, feces and used needles.
He’d already been trespassed
from Dairy Queen and is given a
trespass notice from the remain-
ing businesses on Marlin.
July 3, 1:51 a.m.: Hollaway
spots a woman charging her
phone using the jewelry store’s
power. She leaves when asked.
July 3, 10:05 p.m.: Pierce stops
a woman walking on the gravel
road leading to a water tower off
Harbor Drive. She is warned of the
camping ordinance and trespassed
from the property, which is owned
by the Port of Astoria.
July 4, 1:22 a.m.: Pierce re-
sponds to a disturbance among
transients staying between the
water tower and Shilo Inn and
finds a fire going in a handmade
firepit, four tents and scattered
debris and feces. Port security is
called and the five campers are
given 24 hours to vacate or be ar-
rested for trespassing.
July 4, 8:30 p.m.: A man
and woman from the water tower
camp, Lynne Sisto, 47, and Todd
Schmale, 55, are spotted walking
near Harbor and Marlin Avenue.
Sgt. Pierce reminds them of the
no-camping ordinance and they
assure him they don’t intend to
camp in Warrenton.
July 4, 8:40 p.m.: Ten min-
utes later, Sisto and Schmale are
found at a new campsite on city
property near Marlin and Harbor.
Both are cited for illegal camping.
Schmale becomes verbally abu-
sive, refuses to take the citation
and rips it up once Pierce sets it in
his lap, according to the report.
July 6, 9:30 p.m.: Harrod is
cited for illegal camping and tres-
passing after failing to leave his
site. He tells an officer he’d been
living there several weeks.
5
July 6, 9:40 p.m.: Officer
Teresa McKee checks for illegal
campers behind Goodwill and
spots Dennis Lee McQuire, 47,
camped on private property. She
gives him a citation for illegal
camping and 72 hours to vacate.
July 6, 10 p.m.: Sgt. Pierce
cites Richard Paul Williams,
61, for criminal trespassing on
county-owned property behind
Goodwill. He’d been warned he
was trespassing there on May 10.
There were many other camps in
the area that couldn’t be contact-
ed as police units had to leave to
respond to emergency calls else-
where, according to the report.
July 7, 12:08 a.m.: Mark E.
Warren, 34, is found loitering
behind the jewelry store on Mar-
lin Avenue. He’d already been
trespassed from the location, so
Officer Beem cites him for crimi-
nal trespassing.
July 7, 6:10-6:45 a.m.: During
a sweep of the wooded area be-
hind Ocean Crest Chevrolet,
numerous tents and camps are
found, some with sophisticated
burn pits and all with feces, used
needles and debris. Kevin R. He-
bert, 54, Marcus Lee Journot, 29,
Timothy Wright, 50, Roxy Whit-
comb, 50, and Roebuck are cited
for illegal camping.
July 8, 5:25 p.m.: During
another visit to the wooded area
behind Ocean Crest, officers find
Robert Ray Casey, 61, camping.
He initially gives them a false
name. Casey had two warrants
for his arrest, one of them a fel-
ony. However, the jail is unable
to take him and he is cited for the
crime of providing false informa-
tion to a police officer and pro-
hibited camping.
July 8, 9:36 p.m.: Frank K.
Nimz, 38, is found camping with
his dog behind Goodwill. He is
cited for criminal trespassing.
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