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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (April 5, 2017)
A14 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM WEDNESDAY, APRIL 5, 2017 FROM PAGE A1 Hockensmith cuts deal in animal neglect case By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN Staff Writer Hermiston rancher Michael Hockensmith will be charged with five counts of misdemeanor animal neglect and placed on probation for five years after nearly 200 malnourished cattle were discovered on his proper- ty in January. Hockensmith was ar- raigned Monday. At his indictment Feb. 28 he was charged with 200 counts of animal neglect — 14 in the first degree and 186 in the second-degree, one count for each animal in the herd. At Monday’s hearing, Hockensmith pleaded guilty to five counts of misdemeanor animal neglect, for five of the animals that died, but asked for counts 6 through 200 to be dis- missed. In exchange for charges 6 through 200 be- ing dropped, Hockensmith asked to be placed on bench probation, which means he cannot own do- mestic animals or live- stock for five years. Hockensmith’s attor- ney, John Ballard, asked for two exceptions. One, that Hockensmith be al- lowed to keep one horse that he already owned, and that had been found by the sheriff’s office to have been reasonably well cared for. The other, Bal- lard asked permission for Hockensmith to be able to own and operate firearms, as he lives in a rural area. Circuit Court Judge Eve Temple granted those two exceptions. Deputy district attorney Jake Kamins, who for the past three years has spe- cialized in animal cruelty cases, served as a special prosecutor for the case. Although Hockensmith pleaded guilty to five counts of neglect, 17 an- imals from the herd died over the past few months. Ballard said five ap- peared to have been sick early on, when the winter storm hit. “There are probably some other factors not worth getting into,” Bal- lard said. “In summation, this is probably the most fair resolution, without getting into two to three days’ trial.” Kamins said the five animals were largely symbolic of the other an- imals. “There’s nothing par- ticularly egregious about those five,” he said. “In a plea bargain situation, we’re looking at the de- fendant taking respon- sibility for actions, and being held accountable in a way less than the max penalty. This was resolved very quickly. He took re- sponsibility very quickly.” He added that nothing FILE PHOTO A group of people enjoy a carnival ride during the 2015 Cinco de Mayo celebration in Hermiston. MOVE: continued from Page A1 The upside of moving to Butte Park is that there is room for additional carni- val rides and vendors, plus a place to set up a fireworks show. Beas Fitzgerald said Saturday’s parade and en- tertainment will feature all sorts of traditional enter- tainers, including mariachi bands, horseback groups and dancers. The parade will begin at 1 p.m. at the parking lot for the Oxbow trail and travel east on Elm Avenue. Beas Fitzgerald said they are encouraging community members to show up with decorated children’s bikes and cos- tumed pets and join in the parade. Later that night, a youth dance with a DJ will in- clude a competition to win a car, followed by a fire- works show. Sunday night will feature a “big-name band” that Beas Fitzgerald said she can’t announce yet. “We want residents of the community to have a reason to come both days,” she said. In the days leading up to the event, organizers are holding a competition for Cinco de Mayo queen. Five young women have posted videos about themselves to the Hermiston Cinco de Mayo Facebook page, and the three that get the most likes by 8 p.m. on April 15 will be this year’s Cinco de Mayo queen and two prin- cesses. Beas Fitzgerald said in years past a committee has chosen contestants via essays and interviews, but this year to simplify things “we’re just going to let the public take over.” The young women will participate in the Cinco de Mayo celebration, the an- nual Martin Luther King Jr. Peace Walk in January and serve as volunteers at future city events. Beas Fitzgerald said they will likely make appearances at events like the Umatilla County Fair too. “I want them to have ex- perience meeting with other young ladies like the Uma- tilla County Fair Court, and from the Pendleton Round- Up,” she said. After previous organizer Eddie de la Cruz moved, Beas Fitzgerald said it has been intimidating stepping up as chair of the Cinco de Mayo committee, which last year gained 501(c)3 nonprofit status. But she said fellow organizers Mark Gomolski, Alex Hobbs, Is- ela Osario and others have provided invaluable time and effort to pull it off. “I’m getting really ner- vous,” she said. “It’s the first time for me leading this. But I know everything falls into place as long as there’s people, food and music.” She said the committee hopes to create something that helps foster pride in heritage for young Lati- nos, but is also a fun, fami- ly-friendly event for people of all cultures. “We want them to feel included, that there’s no borders,” she said. ——— Contact Jade McDowell at jmcdowell@eastorego- nian.com or 541-564-4536. would have been different had Hockensmith been charged with 50 counts of animal neglect. While all the counts were initially classified as felonies, Kamins said the five to which Hock- ensmith pleaded guilty were reduced to misde- meanors. “We agreed that be- cause he was coming for- ward quickly, he didn’t need to have felony charges on his record,” Kamins said. He added that no mat- ter how many counts Hockensmith had been charged with, five years’ bench probation was the maximum he could have received for being barred from owning livestock. “That’s a good reso- lution for this case,” Ka- mins said. Hockensmith will also have to complete 80 hours of community service, and pay a $130 misdemeanor fee, as well as $100 for each count of animal neglect. He was initially sentenced to 180 days in jail, all of which Temple suspended. Hockensmith did not make any comments during the hearing. –—— Contact Jayati Ra- makrishnan at 541-564- 4534 or jramakrishnan@ hermistonherald.com. SUV theft in Hermiston leads to pursuit Bradley Griffin-Hadley, 30, of Hermiston was arrest- ed Wednesday, March 29, on counts of driving while suspended, malicious mis- chief, possession of a stolen vehicle and attempting to elude a police officer, ac- cording to Deputy Shanda Zessin of the Walla Walla County Sheriff’s Depart- ment. He was lodged in the Walla Walla County Jail. Law enforcement offi- cials say Griffin-Hadley is suspected of stealing a 1999 gold Ford Explorer SUV from Hermiston and lead- ing police on a car chase through Hermiston, Helix, Pendleton and Milton-Free- water before ending near Burbank, Washington. Lt. Chuck Byram of the Pendleton Police Depart- ment said an officer saw the vehicle, which had been reported stolen out of Herm- iston earlier that morning, passing by on Highway 207 at 5:31 a.m., and the officer started following the vehicle. A Tribal police officer at- tempted to stop the vehicle, which then fled, leading the officer on a chase on High- way 11. Byram said the officer ended the pursuit after de- termining the operator was driving erratically. Griffin-Hadley was ar- rested east of Burbank after running out of gas. KNOCK OUT HIDDEN FEES . PLUS UNLIMITED DATA FOR JUST $40/MO. – With 4 lines – Stop in to learn about new Total Plans featuring no hidden fees and Unlimited Data. uscellular.com/nohiddenfees Taxes and certain charges such as RCRF and USF apply. Things we want you to know: Total Plan and Retail Installment Contract for Smartphone and basic phone purchases or Customer Service Agreement with a two-year initial term (subject to a pro-rated $150 Early Termination Fee for modems and hotspot devices and a $350 Early Termination Fee for Tablets) required. Credit approval also required. Pricing is per line/per month. 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