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About Seaside signal. (Seaside, Or.) 1905-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 14, 2018)
2A • September 14, 2018 • Seaside Signal • seasidesignal.com Woman in fatal drunken-driving crash sentenced Barnett gets 13 years in prison By Jack Heffernan The Daily Astorian A woman who crashed an SUV into a Seaside bus stop shelter while drunk last year, killing one man and critical- ly injuring another, pleaded guilty to several crimes and was sentenced to more than 13 years in prison. One night last Septem- ber, Corrissa Barnett had been drinking heavily while she was with Casey Fulmer, a longtime friend, and some children at Fulmer’s house. Later in the night, she indi- cated she wanted to leave the house and take her teenage daughter with her. When Fulmer tried to pre- vent her from leaving, Barnett started a fight in which she punched and choked her. Barnett was able to start a black 1999 Dodge Duran- go and drive Corrissa away as Ful- Barnett mer dialed 911. Seaside po- lice responded to the area, lo- cated the Durango — driving at high speed with the headlights off — and attempted to make a traffic stop. Barnett, howev- er, continued driving, partially collided with a police car and injured Officer Elise Parkman. She kept driving and turned northbound onto Roosevelt Drive. The car jumped a side- walk outside of McDonald’s restaurant, struck a concrete light pole and slammed into a bus stop shelter occupied by two men. Robert Miles, 42, of Ham- mond, died, while the other Corrissa Barnett was charged with manslaughter after a fatal drunken-driving crash in Sea- side last September. man, Abdirisak Mohamed, 41, of Longview, Washington, was critically injured. When officers arrived, the street was littered with shat- tered glass from the damaged bus stop and blood from the two victims. Officers spot- ted Barnett running toward a bush, where she hid and was soon arrested. Barnett was taken to the hospital, where her blood al- cohol content was more than four times the legal limit for driving, Deputy District At- torney Dawn Buzzard said. She admitted to being the driver and drinking prior to the crash and was taken to the Clatsop County Jail. Barnett pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter, three assault counts and driv- ing under the influence of in- toxicants as part of a deal with the Clatsop County District At- torney’s Office. She originally faced charges of strangulation, two additional assault counts and three counts of felony fail- ure to perform the duties of a driver. If convicted on all the charges in the indictment, she would have faced at least 16 years in prison. Barnett was ordered to pay nearly $5,400 in restitution for funeral expenses and med- ical bills. A Labrador named ‘Lucy’ saves man from sex conviction Dog found in Gearhart By Andrew Selsky Associated Press SALEM — The discovery of a black Labrador named “Lucy” in Gearhart led to the unraveling of a criminal case Monday against an Oregon man who had begun serving a 50-year prison sentence. Joshua Horner, a plumber from Redmond, was convict- ed on April 12, 2017, of sexual abuse of a minor. In the trial, the complainant testified Horner had threatened to shoot her animals if she went to the police about the alleged molestation, and said she saw him shoot her dog and kill it to make his point. Six months after a jury con- victed Horner in a verdict that was not unanimous, he asked the Oregon Innocence Project for help. The group took up his case. When the group raised con- cerns in April about the case LISA CHRISTON The black Lab named “Lucy” at McMenamins Gearhart Golf Links in Gearhart. with Deschutes County District Attorney John Hummel, he agreed to work with them. Horner had insisted he nev- er shot the dog. Finding the dog would show the complainant had lied under oath. But if it was alive, where was it? An Oregon Innocence Proj- ect volunteer and an official from Hummel’s office searched for it. The black Lab had re- portedly been given away. The investigators were sniffing on the trail, but they had trouble tracking down the purported dog’s owner. “They made a couple trips around Deschutes County; he was not there,” said Steve Wax, legal director of the Oregon In- nocence Project. “We heard he was in Seattle. Then we learned he had a place on the Oregon Coast.” It was there, in Gearhart, that the pair finally found Lucy after her owners agreed to ren- dezvous at a golf course. “She was drinking a bowl of water and sitting in shade underneath a porch. We played with her. Petted her. It was wonderful,” said Lisa Christon, the Oregon Innocence Project volunteer. Lucy was identified by an undisputed chain of custody and her looks. “She’s a very distinc- tive-looking black Lab; not purebred. She’s got this ador- able shaped head and really long ears,” Christon said. That key evidence showed the complainant had not been truthful when testifying, the district attorney said. “Lucy the dog was not shot. Lucy the dog is alive and well,” Hummel’s office said in a state- ment. Hummel told the court Monday, Sept. 10, he’s not cer- tain that Horner did not sexual- ly abuse the complainant, but that he’s now not convinced he did. The Associated Press is not naming her because it typically does not identify alleged vic- tims of sexual abuse. Deschutes County Judge Michael Adler dismissed the case. Horner, in a statement re- leased by the Oregon Inno- cence Project, thanked the group, his family, friends and Hummel. “Kelli and I are ready to pick up the pieces of our lives,” Horner said, referring to his wife. The couple came out of the courthouse Monday hold- ing hands and smiling. Horner had walked out of a state prison in Pendleton in August after the Oregon Court of Appeals reversed his con- viction and ordered a new trial. The appeals court said the de- fense had not been allowed to present certain evidence that was unrelated to the dog. Now, Horner no longer fac- es that second trial. He declined a request for an interview, say- ing he is not ready to speak with the media yet After Lucy was found, the complainant failed to attend a meeting in August to discuss her testimony, Hummel said. Last Wednesday, one of his in- vestigators heard she was at a home near Redmond. When he pulled up to the driveway, she ran away. Horner had been indicted under a previous district attor- ney, but the trial and conviction came under Hummel’s watch. Hummel said in an email the issue of the dog being shot was raised for the first time during the trial, so there was no inves- tigation to be done regarding it prior to trial, “and we had no credible reason to question the statement after it was made.” He said exonerations are a reminder that while the U.S. has “the best system of justice in the world it is not perfect. Mistakes will be made and we should be judged by how we respond to them.” Wax, who was Oregon’s former top federal public de- fender for 31 years before joining the Oregon Innocence Project, said the case is highly unusual. “To be able to establish that a person should not have been convicted, you need something objective,” Wax said. “In most child sex abuse cases, there is no evidence. Finding Lucy alive showed the complainant lied under oath in her testimony.” It was the first exonera- tion for the Oregon Innocence Project, launched in 2014 to exonerate the wrongfully convicted and promote legal reforms. Wax praised Hummel for his willingness to re-examine the case. “Nationwide, what Mr. Hummel did was unusual,” Wax said. “It is to be commend- ed. It should be the model.” POLICE LOG Sept. 2 1:54 a.m., 700 block Avenue S: The hosts of a party that went on too long for the neighbors agreed to wrap it up for the night. 4:53 a.m., Bagels by the Sea: A person wanted on a warrant was arrested. 8:42 a.m., 1500 block S. Roo- sevelt: An intoxicated person making a nuisance of them- selves was reported on; the reporting party did not want to press charges, but only for the person to go away for the day. 4:31 p.m., N. Prom: A person was arrested and charged with carrying a concealed weapon; interfering with a police officer; and resisting arrest. Sept. 3 1:15 a.m., Avenue A and Franklin: A person is arrested and charged with possession of cocaine and disorderly conduct. 3:50 a.m., 500 block Beach Drive: A person is arrested for carrying a concealed weap- on; disorderly conduct; and menacing. 7:04 p.m., 900 block N. Holla- day: A person is arrested and charged with assault in the fourth degree; harassment; and disorderly conduct. Sept. 4 1:09 p.m., Broadway and Hol- laday: A person reports being threatened with a firearm following a road-rage incident. 4:32 p.m., Edgewood and Avenue S: A caller reports he found the person who stole his bike; the accused tells police the caller stole the bike from them earlier. report of crab lines cut off the 12th Avenue bridge. 5:51 p.m., 800 block S. Lincoln: Police respond to a request for a welfare check regarding a newborn. The mother of the infant tells police she will be making a medical appointment for the child soon. Sept. 6 2:44 p.m., Police headquar- ters: A person came in to register as a sex offender. 9:26 p.m., Lewis and Clark: A runaway is reported. Sept. 7 3:22 a.m., Avenue A: A group of juveniles reported running wildly and smoking marijuana in a parking structure took off and were unable to be located by police officers. 9:21 a.m., 1400 block S. Roosevelt: Responding to an animal complaint, police take into custody two dogs, one for safekeeping, the other as an owner surrender. 2:17 p.m., 13th and Holla- day: Two suspects are taken into custody after passing fraudulent currency and for being wanted on outstanding warrants. 4:28 p.m., 800 block S. Lincoln: A reporting party asks police to check again on a newborn who they say is not gaining weight. Police responding say the baby looks fine. The mother said she will make an appointment for the infant to check progress. 8:07 p.m., 900 block N. Holladay: Police are asked to help locate a possibly suicidal person. Sept. 5 9:45 p.m., 1200 block Avenue E: Sex crimes are reported. 7:43 a.m., 2300 block S. Roo- sevelt: A person is arrested for being in violation of a restrain- ing order. Sept. 8 10:21 a.m., 12th Avenue Bridge: Police investigate a W HAVE WE 100 FLAVORS OF SALT, YET OUR BANK STILL SPICED UP OUR BUSINESS . 7:48 a.m., The Cove: People reported taking crabs off the rocks showed police their shellfish licenses. Mark Zoske | CEO | SaltWorks We helped SaltWorks grow from a spare bedroom to the largest gourmet salt company in the world. Columbia Bank’s financial expertise and SaltWorks’ knack for business complemented each other like gourmet salt on a prime steak. From the start, we’ve been providing financial advice, equipment financing and all the rock-solid support we can shake up. See how good your relationship with a bank can be. Visit WhereRelationshipsRule.com. Member FDIC Equal Housing Lender