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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 9, 2019)
LOCAL A6 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2019 Search warrant leads to solving nine cases man. Morrow County Sher- iff’s Offi ce Deputy Taylor Wasserman responded to the A Morrow County Sher- scene, according to a news iff’s Offi ce investigation release from the sheriff’s into a theft of navigation offi ce, and took a report for equipment led to the arrest the theft of a RTK radio with of a Hermiston man and receiver and a John Deere solved a number of local 2630 display from a John cases. Deere tractor. The suspect, Morrow County Chalen James Ott- District Attorney Jus- mar, 24, faces sev- tin Nelson said the eral charges. State theft occurred in July. court records show He described the Ottmar has been on items as navigation a downward spi- equipment. The sher- Ottmar ral of crime since iff’s offi ce reported December 2018. Barton Laser valued Hermiston-based Barton the equipment at approxi- Laser Leveling Inc. on Aug. mately $20,000. 6 reported the theft of equip- The investigation led ment from a tractor near Wasserman to the auction Pole Line Road and Home- website eBay, where Ottmar stead Lane outside Board- posted the missing goods. By PHIL WRIGHT STAFF WRITER Wasserman worked with the the Fulton County Sheriff’s Offi ce in Illinois and oth- ers there to get the property back to the owner. After gathering addi- tional evidence, Wasserman obtained a search warrant for Ottmar’s residence, 19 Westview Drive, Hermiston. Members of the Morrow County Sheriff’s Offi ce and Hermiston Police Depart- ment served the search war- rant Oct. 1, arrested Ottmar and recovered property from crimes in Morrow and Uma- tilla counties. According to the news release, the goods solved nine cases in all for the Mor- row County Sheriff’s Offi ce, Umatilla County Sheriff’s Offi ce, Hermiston Police Department, Oregon State Police and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The Morrow County Sheriff’s Offi ce hauled Ottmar to jail in Pendleton for two counts of unauthorized entry into a motor vehicle, two counts of trespassing and two counts of aggravated theft. State court records show Ottmar in 2014 pleaded guilty to possessing less than 4 ounces of marijuana, in 2016 he pleaded no contest to violating the basic driving rule and in 2018 he pleaded no contest to speeding, all Umatilla County cases. This year, Ottmar faced three separate criminal cases in Umatilla County. He pleaded guilty in May to three counts of sec- ond-degree theft for stealing dog food, a cooler and and spa pump from three people in January and received 12 months of court- supervised probation. Later that month, he faced fi rst-degree theft and second-degree burglary charges for breaking into Highland Hills Elementary School, Hermiston, on Dec. 6, 2018, and stealing Apple iPads. And in July the district attorney’s offi ce charged Ottmar with criminal sim- ulation and attempted third-degree theft for alter- ing currency and trying to pass it off on June 23 at a McDonald’s. He took deals in both cases, plead- ing guilty on Sept. 20 to the theft and criminal simula- tion charges in exchange for two years of probation. The Morrow County Dis- trict Attorney’s Offi ce last Wednesday arraigned Ott- mar on preliminary charges in the latest case, including for aggravated theft, a fel- ony. Nelson said Ottmar’s next court appearance is Oct. 31. The delay is due to the court granting a request to release Ottmar from jail. Nelson explained Ottmar’s attorney, Steven Thomas of Pendleton, told the court Ottmar begins an addiction treatment program Monday in Eugene, and he asked the court to let him do that. The hearing at the end of the month also means Nelson’s offi ce has more time to present evidence to a grand jury for formal charges against Ottmar. Missing man found, then arrested Deputies from the Uma- tilla County Sheriff’s Offi ce searched the water, as well A man who was reported as his last listed Hermiston missing in July by the Uma- address on Autumn Avenue tilla County Sheriff’s but found nothing. Offi ce was trans- They publicized his ferred to the Uma- disappearance, call- tilla County Jail on ing him missing and Oct. 2. possibly in danger. Jason Edward Now that he has Moore, 45, of Herm- been found alive he iston, was located is facing a charge Moore and lodged in the for failing to appear Marion County at an August trial on Jail on Sept. 28 after law a fi rst-degree criminal mis- enforcement there dis- chief charge, and another covered he had outstand- for disseminating intimate ing warrants in Umatilla images of the victim from County. that case. On July 28, Moore’s wal- He was also charged let, along with some cloth- with contempt of court, and ing, a cellphone and a sui- fi rst-degree invasion of per- cide note, was found along sonal privacy. the Columbia River in Uma- Moore was originally tilla by a passerby picking indicted for fi rst-degree blackberries. Associates of criminal mischief in Janu- Moore said they hadn’t seen ary, and was released from him since July 9. jail in February with the By JESSICA POLLARD STAFF WRITER Contributed photo by UCFD1 Umatilla County Fire District fi refi ghters attack a shop fi re on Brock Lane in Hermiston that happened Thursday morning. Firefi ghters respond to multiple blazes in Hermiston last week HERMISTON HERALD A number of vehicles and a building were dam- aged in a series of separate fi res Thursday in western Umatilla County. Umatilla County Fire District 1 responded about about 7:30 a.m. that day to a fi re in a shop outside of a home. The blaze was con- tained to the shop. Shortly after 4:30 p.m. that same day the depart- ment responded to a semitruck on fi re at Mile- post 2 on Highway 37. No one was injured in the blaze and the fi re was contained after 6 p.m., according to Battalion Chief Corey Gorham. UCFD1 responded as mutual aid to a call of a metal shop on fi re by the Umatilla Rural Fire Pro- tection District. The call went out just before 7 p.m. for the fi re at 81830 North Highway 395. The shop contained a cement truck and a full- sized pickup truck. Both were damaged and the building was extensively damaged, Gorham said. No one was in the building at the time, and no injuries were reported. The fi re was contained within the hour. Later in the evening, UCFD1 responded to another semi-truck on fi re around 9 p.m. at Lamb Weston in Hermiston. No injuries were reported, but the truck and trailer had extensive damage. On Saturday eve- ning, UCFD1 responded to another shop fi re about 9:15 p.m. at a home behind Harley Swain Subaru. The fi re was contained to the detached garage. All incidents are cur- rently under investigation. Sherwin-Williams set to open paint store on N First Street By JADE MCDOWELL NEWS EDITOR The old Payless Shoe Store building in Hermis- ton won’t stay empty for long after the shoe retailer went out of business this summer. The building at 1390 N First St. is being remodeled into a Sherwin-Williams paint store. Jeffrey Light, director of real estate for midwestern states and Canada for Sher- win-Williams, confi rmed Tuesday that the new store is expected to open in late December 2019. He said the Hermis- ton store will be focused on “residential repaint and DYI business,” serving homeowners and painting contractors in the area. Sherwin-Williams is a national chain with stores around the United States including Pendleton, Ken- BRIEFS SAGE Saturday craft features Halloween theme Kids and their families can create a creepy witch’s cauldron or festive sugar skull mag- net this weekend at the SAGE Center. The free activity takes place during SAGE Saturday, while supplies last. Port View Apartments is “taking” over the event this weekend. The event is Satur- day from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The SAGE Center is located at 101 Olson Road, Boardman. In addition, admis- sion is free to the visitor’s center all day long until 5 p.m. For more information, contact 541-481- 7243, sagecenter@portofmorrow.com or visit www.visitsage.com. Higher Power Fitness hosts women’s expo on Saturday Staff photo by Jade McDowell Sherwin-Williams is turning the former Payless Shoe Store in Hermiston into a paint store, set to open in December. newick, Pasco and Rich- land. In addition to its stores selling paints and stains, the company also provides spe- cialized coatings for indus- tries such as aerospace, rail- roads, marine, gas and oil, bridges, health care, food service and fi re protection. Sherwin-Williams isn’t the only company spruc- ing up that section of North First Street. Panda Express is build- ing a new restaurant two buildings down, at the for- mer Stockman’s Steak- house at 1530 N First St., which is also set to open in December. expectation he would not contact the victim of his crime or leave the state. When he failed to appear at a pre-trial conference in March, a warrant was issued for his arrest. According to court doc- uments, Moore was issued an emergency release from the jail in April due to overcrowding. On two separate occa- sions in June and July, before Moore was reported missing, he allegedly dis- tributed intimate images of his victim on the internet, according to court docu- ments released Thursday. On July 17, Moore’s attorney requested a rescheduling of the trial because he couldn’t locate the defense witness. Moore is currently lodged at the Umatilla County Jail, and his bail is set at $45,000. A variety of vendors offering home-based business products are featured during the Fall Women’s Expo. The event is Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Higher Power Fitness, 2120 N. First St., Hermiston. Admission is a dona- tion of cash or supplies for the Hermiston Warming Station. Suggested items for the winter include gloves, wool socks, lip balm, sunglasses and ice-melt. In addition, household clean- ing supplies and hot drinks (coffee, hot chocolate, apple cider, etc). For questions about current needs, call 541-289-2150, 541-303-3256 or visit www. facebook.com/hermistonwarmingstation. During the women’s expo, food and drinks will be served. For more information, call 541-571-5691. First Christian Church hosts Hymnsing on Sunday An evening of fellowship features the singing of old hymns with new and old friends. Everyone is invited to Hymnsing Sun- day from 5:30-6:30 p.m. at the First Christian Church, 775 W. Highland Ave., Hermiston. There is no admission charge for the informal service. For more information, contact Chris Finley at johnchris_1@msn.com or 541-571-2516. Tourism industry launches leadership academy A new learning program is being launched for public and private sector tour- ism professionals. The program is designed to assist lead- ers in polishing their skills and assist in making positive and lasting contributions to the state’s tourism industry. Interested participants should have supervisory, man- agerial, or executive responsibilities in either the private or public sector. The Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association announced that the launch of the Oregon Tourism Leadership Academy was developed in partnership with the Ore- gon Destination Association and Travel Oregon. The program will be led by the indus- try’s top experts. The program is accepting applications for participants, who will begin meeting in the spring of 2020. The experiential learning sessions will include visits to Eastern Oregon, the Colum- bia Gorge, the greater Portland area and the Oregon coast. Participants will qualify for four credits of the Hospitality Management Program through Chemeketa Community College. The application deadline is Friday, Nov. 1. For more information, visit www.ore- gonrla.org/otla.html. For questions, contact Marla McColly at 503-428-8694 or mmcco- lly@oregonrla.org.
