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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (May 16, 2018)
am WEDNESDAY, MAY 16, 2018 HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A3 NEWS Judge: Houfmuse to remain in custody Judge not convinced of self-defense or presumption of guilt By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN STAFF WRITER The case of a Hermiston man charged with murder will go to trial in October after hearings last week revealed new information in the case — but not enough for the judge to agree to his release. Tyree Houfmuse, 35, will remain in the Umatilla County Jail on charges of murder, manslaugh- ter and felon in possession of a fire- arm. He has been in jail since June 2017 for the murder of James Cra- gun last Memorial Day weekend. Houfmuse’s trial is set to begin October 29. Over multiple days, Judge Eva Temple heard arguments for Houf- muse’s release after his attorney, Kara Davis, argued he had acted in self-defense. District Attorney Dan Primus tried to convince the judge that there is enough presumption that Houfmuse is guilty of murder that Temple should order him to stay in jail with no bail. Temple did not grant either side’s request, and reduced Houf- STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS Tyree Houfmuse is led into the courtroom of Umatilla County Circuit Court Judge Eva Temple for a pre-trial hearing on March 27, 2018, at the Stafford Hansell Government Center in Hermiston. muse’s bail from $1 million to $250,000. She stated that there was not enough evidence to rule out self-defense, and that she did not see a strong presumption of guilt, either. “There is a lot of contradictory evidence in this case,” Temple said after hearing both arguments. She said that according to Cragun’s autopsy, he had several injuries that have not been discussed else- where in the case, such as lacera- tions above his eye and bruised knees. She also noted that the primary contributor of DNA on the gun was Cragun’s. Houfmuse’s DNA has not been found on the weapon. Pri- mus said the state cannot explain the lack of Houfmuse’s DNA on the gun. Over the two days of hear- ings, Temple heard more than eight hours of video interviews with Houfmuse and several wit- nesses, including a woman both Houfmuse and Cragun had dated, and two women who were present when Cragun was shot. Houfmuse and the witnesses described the night Cragun died. They said Cragun drove up to the apartment Houfmuse and the woman were going into. Cragun got out of the car, jumped over a hedge and started moving toward Houfmuse. Cragun had been convicted of assaulting the woman two years prior, and she had a restraining order against him. The East Ore- gonian does not name victims of domestic violence. Detectives also found text messages on the wom- an’s phone, from Cragun, threaten- ing Houfmuse’s life and hers. “If that doesn’t frighten you and put you in fear of felonious assault, what does?” Davis asked. Houfmuse said Cragun came running toward him and took a gun out of a bag. Houfmuse said he grabbed Cragun’s hands and twisted the gun, and the gun went off. Primus said the autopsy shows the entry point of the bullet to be on Cragun’s upper left back area — which he said makes it impossi- ble for the gun to have been twisted as Houfmuse claims. But Davis argued that Houf- muse had ample reason to fear for his life. “The state’s argument is that my client is paranoid at the threats Cragun was making,” she said. “That is textbook self-defense.” Davis also said that the state had waited several months to request lab testing for physical evidence in the case, which she said led to a delay of six months. The trial was originally scheduled to start in April. “He’s been in jail almost a year now,” she said. “We have a trial date in six months because the state didn’t do their job.” Temple also heard an audio interview with Cameron Teem, a man who had shared a jail cell with Houfmuse at the Umatilla County Jail, and who gave an officer a detailed account of what Houf- muse told him had happened the night Cragun died. In the interview, Teem offers several specific details that Houf- muse told him about the incident. He said that Houfmuse admitted to him that he did have the gun with him the night Cragun died, and was carrying it in his backpack. He states that when Cragun came rushing toward him, he swung the backpack around to his front and pulled the gun out of it. Teem also stated that Houf- muse said he egged Cragun on in his threatening statements, and intended to set him up to come there that night. Temple said at this point, she does not know that Houfmuse brought the gun with him, and that she was baffled by the lack of his DNA on the weapon. She stated that at this point, there was not enough evidence to indicate that the shooting was set up by Houfmuse. She said she would continue to hold Houfmuse in jail before he goes to trial. “Obviously there is a lot more evidence in this case than what’s been presented,” Temple said. “It appears this is not the case I thought it was.” Crash into building leads to arrest of burglary suspect As Rankin passed by, the car turned south onto Northeast 10th, accelerated The crash of a vehicle and whirled west onto East fleeing law enforcement Ridgeway Avenue. Rankin Sunday in Hermiston led to activated his car’s overhead one arrest for burglary and lights and turned around other charges, but two sus- to follow. The Toyota sped pects remain at large. through residential areas and The Umatilla County eventually drove onto Diag- Sheriff’s Office in a written onal Road and then East Main Street. The statement reported sheriff’s office stated deputy Nathan Rankin turned off Rankin at 11:22 a.m. his siren and ended Sunday was driv- ing his patrol vehi- the pursuit out of cle north on North- concerns for public east 10th Street near safety. Sandstone Middle Amanda The deputy saw School, Hermiston, Clawson the vehicle speed when he saw a newer west on East Main model, gray Toyota Corolla Street and crash into a leaving the driveway of the building at 495 E. Main St. residence at 395 N.E. 10th Rankin neared the crash and St. Three people were in saw two males and a female the car, and Rankin recog- run from the scene, and he nized the vehicle belonged captured Clawson. to Amanda Lynn Clawson, “Clawson admitted she 35, of Hermiston. was driving the vehicle,” Circuit Court records according to the sheriff’s show Rankin on March 28 office, and she said she tried gave Clawson a ticket for to elude Rankin because one driving uninsured. of her passengers told her he By PHIL WRIGHT STAFF WRITER PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY KARI GOODHEART A car sticks out of a stairwell at 495 E. Main Street, Hermiston, after a chase on Sunday. had a warrant. She would not identify her two passengers. Clawson told Rankin she had methamphetamine in her purse and firearms inside her vehicle. Rankin searched the car and found approxi- mately 1/8th ounce of possi- ble meth and several ounces of marijuana. He also saw two handguns, a large metal safe, jewelry and paperwork with the name “Maret,” which is the name of the family that lives at 395 N.E. 10th St. CONCEALED CARRY PERMIT CLASS Valid in Washington Pendleton boy, 12, killed in I-82 crash near Umatilla HERMISTON HERALD Nathan Salazar of Pend- leton died May 8 in a crash near Umatilla. He was 12. Oregon State Police reported the stormy weather at the time could be a con- tributing factor. State police, Umatilla County Fire District 1 and other agencies at about 7:15 p.m. responded to a sin- gle-vehicle crash on Inter- state 82 outside Umatilla. The preliminary investi- gation indicated Raymond Ramone Dick Shippen- tower, 32, of Pendleton, was driving a silver Mazda MPV westbound on the highway. The minivan veered off the road and rolled over in the median. Nathan was a passenger in the vehicle. He died from injuries at the scene. The other passengers were Christina Marie Leyva, 38, of Pendleton, and a 3-year-old girl. They and the driver suffered minor or non-life threatening injuries, according to state police. Police and road crews restricted I-82 to one lane for three-and-a-half hours during the investigation. Nathan was a student at Washington Elementary School in Pendleton, where staff sent a letter to parents identifying Nathan and tell- ing parents how their chil- dren could react to grief. Oregon State Police trooper Dain Gardner assisted Rankin. He went to the Maret residence, dis- covered the back door was damaged and contacted the family, who confirmed their residence was burglarized. “They went to the crash scene and identified their stolen property in Clawson’s vehicle,” the sheriff’s office reported. Rankin also found what appeared to be a hand gre- nade in the car. The sher- iff’s office called the Ore- gon State Police Explosives Unit, whose members deter- mined it “to be a non-explo- sive, fake device.” The sher- iff’s office did not yet know if the item came from the Maret home or was in the car already. The sheriff’s office booked Clawson in the county jail, Pendleton, on the following: misdemeanor and felony attempt to flee, hit and run on property, first-degree trespass, posses- sion of burglary tools, two counts of first-degree theft, possession and delivery of meth and possession of a hoax destructive device. The sheriff’s office reported the two other sus- pects remain at large, and the investigation is continuing. M AY 18 TH • 6:00 PM Best Western 2255 S Hwy 395, Hermiston $80 multi-State, Oregon included no-fee. $45 Oregon-only Required class to get an Oregon or multi-State Required class to get an Oregon or multi-State permit. Class includes: • Fingerprinting & photo • Oregon gun laws • Washington gun laws • Interstate travel laws • Interaction with law enforcement • Use of deadly force • Firearm / ammunition / holster selection 360.921.2071 FirearmTrainingNW.com : FirearmTrainingNW@gmail.com Stanfield plant catches fire again GET THE NETWORK inspection in the part of the to 20 incidents between 8 plant where the fires keep a.m. May 8 and 8 a.m. May Umatilla County Fire occuring because it is still 9, Roberts said, which was District 1 responded to the considered to be a “new above the average of 12 or 3D Idapro Solutions dehy- building under construc- so. dration plant in Stanfield for tion” under the law. the fifth time in about a year The district stated that on May 8. it is cooperating with an At 10:30 p.m., Umatilla investigation by the Ore- County Fire District 1 sent a gon OSHA (Occupational full response to the plant at Safety and Health Adminis- 405 Hoosier Lane, Stanfield, tration) that started after the 5 Theater Cineplex according to Battalion Chief last fire. At about 11 p.m. that JW Roberts. Check The plant has had at least same night, a small barn wildhorseresort.com five fires in recent memory, caught fire at 1299 W. High- for showtimes Roberts said, and each one land Ave., Hermiston. Roberts said all available $5 Matinee Classics has required a “full, real-deal response” as smoke from the personnel and a few from Every Wednesday bag house fills the building. other agencies responded. Credit & Debit Cards Roberts said the barn Damage to the building was accepted housed chickens and stored limited, he said. Cineplex gift cards The district later posted hay, and no one was injured available a federal government benefit program and only and only qualified persons may participate. Lifeline service may not be on Facebook that the Lifeline fire in is either fire. 541-966-1850 only in district has not legally been All told, Umatilla County annually. 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