2A • August 5, 2016 • Seaside Signal • seasidesignal.com
Defense lawyers attempt to humanize
accused murderer and abuser Roden
By Kyle Spurr
EO Media Group
Defense lawyers for Randy
Roden will try to humanize the
accused murderer at his trial
this fall with testimony from
friends, family and teachers
who say he was a peaceful per-
son who overcame a traumatic
upbringing in Georgia.
Lawyers Conor Huseby and
Robert Axford iled a request
in mid-July to have a dozen
out-of-state witnesses from
Georgia, North Carolina and
Tennessee testify at the trial
and possible sentencing.
Roden, 28, is facing the
death penalty if convicted. The
testimony could be essential in
deciding Roden’s fate.
He is accused of murder-
ing his girlfriend’s 2-year-old
daughter and abusing and tor-
turing her two sons in their
Seaside apartment in 2014.
An autopsy found the toddler,
Evangelina Wing, apparently
died of battered child syndrome
with blunt force trauma to her
head. The children’s mother,
Dorothy Wing, 26, pleaded
guilty in January to irst-degree
manslaughter and two counts
of irst-degree criminal mis-
treatment. She was sentenced
to more than 15 years in pris-
on, contingent on her truthfully
testifying at Roden’s trial.
JOSHUA BESSEX/EO MEDIA GROUP
Randy Roden, right, walks out of court following a hearing in
2015.
Roden is serving an eight-
year prison sentence for
violating probation from a
previous domestic violence
conviction in Clatsop County.
Testimony about Roden’s
background will be used to
help counteract the gruesome
depictions by prosecutors of
life inside the Seaside apart-
ment he shared with Wing.
Witnesses for Roden in-
clude his close friends, sister,
half brother and sixth and
third grade teachers.
Angela Hollingsworth, Ro-
den’s paternal aunt, is expected
to describe Roden’s father as
a violent and abusive addict
who mistreated Roden and
his mother before he commit-
ted suicide when Roden was
3 years old. Hollingsworth
claims she never saw any of the
anger, meanness and violence
in Roden that was so apparent
in his father.
Barbara Rogers, Roden’s
stepaunt, plans to explain how
Roden was profoundly affect-
ed by his father’s suicide and
how he was never accepted by
his mother or his stepfather. Ro-
den was desperate to it in with
his new family, but was treated
differently than his stepsiblings
and he became depressed as a
result, Rogers says.
“Ms. Rogers has unique in-
sight into who Mr. Roden is and
what his childhood was like,”
the defense lawyers wrote in
court documents.
Other friends and fami-
ly who were close to Roden
during his Georgia upbringing
are willing to testify about his
“positive and loving manner.”
They will describe generous
acts and how Roden was an
animal lover who was kind
to the pets he kept during his
childhood.
Joseph Bales, Roden’s best
friend, will testify that he never
saw Roden become violent, and
he refused to ight even when
attacked on several occasions.
Bales, a special forces soldier,
says if he was looking for a
trustworthy and loyal friend
to take into battle with him, he
would not hesitate to choose
Roden.
The cost of round-trip air-
fare, rental car, hotel room and
food for each witness has been
approved by the Oregon Public
Defense Services Commission.
The trial is scheduled to
begin in September in Clatsop
County Circuit Court.
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Sgt. Jason Goodding name will be formally added to the
Oregon Fallen Law Enforcement Oicers Memorial during
the 2017 ceremony.
Fallen Seaside oficer
Goodding’s name to be
added to state memorial
At its quarterly meeting
in July, the Board on Public
Safety Standards and Train-
ing unanimously approved
the recommendation of its
Police Policy Committee to
add the name of Sgt. Jason
Goodding of the Seaside Po-
lice Department to the Ore-
gon Fallen Law Enforce-
ment Oficers Memorial
during the 2017 ceremony.
Sgt. Goodding’s name
will be formally added
during next year’s ceremo-
ny scheduled May 2, at the
Oregon Public Safety Acad-
emy.
Seaside Police Sergeant
Jason Goodding, who was
shot and killed while serv-
ing a felony warrant on Feb.
5, 2016 is the 183rd Oregon
law enforcement oficer to
have died in the line of duty
since the irst was recorded
in the 1880s.
A total of 183 law en-
forcement oficers across
Oregon, including city,
county, state, tribal and
federal oficers who work
in law enforcement, correc-
tions and parole and proba-
tion agencies, have died in
the line of duty.
SEASIDE POLICE LOG
July 17
5:09 a.m., 1100 block 5th
Street: Police respond to a
report of a person yelling,
possibly at a dog. Police arrived
to quiet.
7:29 a.m., 1500 block S.
Roosevelt: Police respond to a
report of a suspicious person.
Subject is advised they are
trespassing and asked to leave
the premises.
12:30 p.m., 800 block Ave-
nue M: Caller reports being
harassed by an individual over
the telephone.
before oicer responded.
6:49 p.m., 500 block Paciic
Way: A motor vehicle hit and
run accident was reported.
6:51 p.m., 400 block Avenue
A: A motor vehicle hit and run
accident was reported.
7:57 p.m., 400 block S. Franklin:
A missing person was reported.
8:59 p.m., 2000 block S. Frank-
lin: Caller reports neighboring
children being screamed at
night and day. Police contact
the mother who admits she has
been yelling at her children.
2:03 p.m., Broadway: Caller
reports subjects standing on
the street begging for food
and money. Caller is advised
nothing illegal is happening
but caller insists the beggers be
told to move along.
July 21
3:27 p.m., 1600 block S. Colum-
bia: Caller reports subject who
came to her window and asked
how she was doing. Her con-
cern was she and the subject
had once worked together and
he was known to have threat-
ened other employees. Subject
is located by the police and
advised about his activity.
3:21 p.m.. 900 block N. Roos-
evelt: Caller asks for a welfare
check on an elderly neighbor
who hadn’t picked up her
newspapers all week. Police
contact various services who
have no information about the
woman who it is later deter-
mined is in Portland, visiting
her daughter.
July 18
7:53 p.m. 600 block Avenue T:
An assault took place. No fur-
ther information was available.
7:58 p.m., 200 block Broadway:
A missing person is reported.
9:08 p.m., Holladay Drive:
Caller reports someone going
around ringing doorbells at a
residential accommodation.
The management was contact-
ed and advised.
July 19
11:02 a.m., Thompson Falls
Wood: A ire investigation was
conducted following a ire.
11:13 a.m., All Roads: Police
issued a bulletin to Seaside,
Gearhart and Cannon Beach
police units regarding a report
of a possibly intoxicated driver
with a suspended license who
is believed to be getting on the
road and heading towards Can-
non Beach. At the time of the
report, the vehicle was parked
in Gearhart.
3:37 p.m., 1800 block Spruce: A
forgery/fraud was reported.
5:18 p.m., Turnaround: A
2-year-old child was reported
missing at the beach. It was
later conirmed the child was
safe and sound and back at the
hotel where it and the mother
were reunited.
6:23 p.m. 1000 block S. Colum-
bia: Caller reports a domestic
disturbance going on next
door. Police responding spoke
to both parties who denied
there had been a disturbance.
July 20
4:02 a.m., 200 block 1st Ave-
nue: Police respond to report
of a verbal altercation. Brother
and sister are arguing about
who sister should date.
6:38 p.m., Beach and Avenue G:
A missing person was reported.
The individual was located
3:35 a.m., 300 block Forest
Court: Police respond to a call
about a suspicious sound on
the back porch that sounded to
the caller like footsteps. Oicers
are unable to locate anyone.
July 22
3:33 p.m., 300 block and 4th:
Oicers respond to a call for
a welfare check on an elderly
woman who lives with her
dog in an upstairs unit, using
a ladder to see inside. It is
determined the dog is home
alone; the woman’s daughter
tells police her mother is in the
hospital.
4:01 p.m., N. Promenade:
Oicer responds to a call to
check on a dog inside a vehicle.
Dog is ine and is given a bowl
of water.
7:09 a.m., 200 block Avenue A:
Report of a ight; oicers arrive
on scene. Are unable to locate.
July 25
12:03 a.m., Broadway and Co-
lumbia: Caller reports someone
giving them an obscene ges-
ture. Police are unable to locate
the described individual.
5:18 p.m., 700 block Broadway:
Caller reports someone “tweek-
ing” and looking in cars while
crossing back and forth across
the street. Police checking the
area are unable to locate any-
one itting that description.
July 26
1:01 a.m., Avenue K: Police re-
spond to a report of a man yell-
ing at and pushing a woman.
The man was last seen entering
Taco Bell. Police are unable to
locate either party.
July 27
4:40 p.m. 200 block S. Colum-
bia: Caller reports a pack of 15
or more kids riding bikes and
blocking his business. Police
are unable to locate.
1:43 p.m., 300 block S. Roos-
evelt: Caller reports a seagull
stuck in a fence near genera-
tors. Police responding do not
see any gull, but only some
Brazil nuts the gull must have
wanted.
7:50 p.m., 2000 block Pine
Street: Two subjects walked up
to a house and rang the door-
bell. When no one responded
they went around to the back.
Subjects are located and
contacted.
Time and
money.
We give
you both.
July 23
3:30 p.m.. 1500 block N.
Roosevelt: Caller asks police for
assistance regarding a car the
caller had sold to her daughter
in law. Police advise caller this is
a civil matter.
3:47 p.m., Broadway: An
accidental pocket dial from
a phone was screams of joy
and happiness from someone
riding the Tilt-O-Whirl.
8:24 p.m., Avenue S: Suspect
attempting to enter storage
unit they were not legally
responsible for; they had been
locked out for lack of payment
and a responsible party had
to be contacted. Meanwhile,
suspect was told to leave and
not come back until payment
was made and they had full
permission to access the unit
by the responsible party.
July 24
8:00 a.m., 100 block and 5th:
A motor vehicle hit and run
accident occurred. No further
information was given.
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8:11 a.m., 1300 N. Holladay:
A report of a disturbance in
the area proved unfounded as
police found no one behaving
unreasonably.
5:10 p.m., Seaside police sta-
tion: A sex ofender registered
being in the city.
July 28
1:14 p.m., N. Holladay: Caller
requests welfare check for a
dog tied up outside a house.
Dog is found to have shelter
and food and water. Children
seem to be watching it. Owner
is contacted and said will return
in the evening to check on the
dog.
July 29
4:36 p.m., 300 block S.
Edgewood: A structure ire is
reported.
11:06 p.m., 100 block and 5th:
Caller reports ominous calls
from an ex. Police advise caller
of their options and say they
will put extra patrols on the
area.
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