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.
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