Oregon’s lawbreaking isn’t all terrorist FBI-aided treelighting explosions.  When I lived in Oregon, it was easy to keep up with my criminally inclined friends by adding the Oregon State Police’s alert page to my RSS feed.  Who had gotten arrested transporting marijuana while on tour? Who’d tried to rob a bank?

You don’t have to be a gun runner or cocaine kingpin to use sheriff’s logs as your personal Facebook feed.  This is common.  There’s even a weekly paper sold at convenience stores in Portland called “BU$TED!” featuring the faces and names of the recently arrested.  So there.

But why the common criminality?  Portland, Oregon is home to some very educated individuals.  It’s a progressive city, a mecca of sustainability, gay rights, bike culture, slow food, and liberal sentiment in general.  However…

Oregon is a sparsely populated state, tucked away in the Northwest, under a consistent blanket of rain and dark.  Every Oregon city that isn’t Portland is mighty insular, primarily white, and cursed with a high unemployment rate.   Seasonal affective disorder, plentiful bars, meth labs, and a sense of invisibilty due to isolation lead to some interestingly unplanned crimes.  Here’s some of last week’s greatest hits:

Pizza Delivery Driver Robbed

On Sunday, December 05, 2010 at 12:01 a.m., a Dominoes Pizza delivery driver was bringing a pizza to an address in the 16700 block of SW Cambridge Court in the community of Aloha. The pizza was ordered from the Dominoes Pizza located at the corner of SW 185th Avenue and SW Farmington Road.

The 20-year-old female delivery driver told deputies that she got out of her car and was approached by a white male, about 5’9″ tall with an athletic but skinny build. The man was wearing a brown zip-up hoodie with the hood up and blue jeans.

Charles “Chuck” Hunt

The suspect, later identified as 19-year-old Charles “Chuck” Hunt from Beaverton, approached the victim and indicated that he had a gun by keeping his hand in the pocket of his sweatshirt. He told the victim to give him all her money. She handed over $40 in cash to Mr. Hunt. He then told her to turn around and face her car. The victim complied with Mr. Hunt’s demands. He took the pizza bag with the pizza in it and walked away.

The victim told deputies that she heard a car squeal its tires and quickly drive away. She called 911 to report the robbery. During the investigation deputies determined that the phone number used to place the delivery order to Dominoes came from a cell phone that belongs to 22-year-old Nathan Flowers from Beaverton.

Nathan Flowers

Deputies were not able to locate Mr. Flowers the night of the robbery, but they found him later in the day (Sunday) at his apartment located 5500 block of SW Franklin Avenue in Beaverton. They interviewed Mr. Flowers but did not have enough evidence to arrest him at the time.

During the investigation Chuck Hunt became the primary suspect in the robbery. On Monday, Mr. Hunt came into the Sheriff’s Office to be interviewed by investigators. Mr. Hunt told them that he was the one who robbed the delivery driver and not Mr. Flowers. He said he did not have a gun during the robbery. Mr. Hunt said he and Mr. Flowers had been consuming marijuana and alcohol prior to the robbery. He said Mr. Flowers was aware of the robbery and Flowers drove his car during the incident. Mr. Hunt was arrested for Robbery in the 2nd degree and Menacing in the 2nd degree. Investigators did not find a gun during the investigation.

Mr. Flowers was arrested yesterday, December 08, and charged with Robbery in the 2nd degree. This is the twelfth time 22-year-old Nathan Flowers has been booked into the Washington County Jail.

The delivery driver was very shaken up, but not physically harmed during the robbery.

 

Disabled Person’s Scooter Found and Returned 

Thanks to a Good Samaritan, Lisa Saiyed’s Jazzy Scooter has been located and returned. At about 11:30 this morning, an anonymous Gresham citizen saw Saiyed’s scooter abandoned blocks from her home and recovered it. After loading the scooter into their vehicle, they flagged down a nearby Gresham police officer who helped return the scooter to Saiyed. Saiyed and the Gresham Police Department wish to thank everyone for their generosity and help in recovering the scooter.

No suspect has been identified in this case and no other information is available at this time.

 

Security Company Owner Arrested for Burglary 

Sheldon McMillan

Washington County Deputies arrested three people in connection to a string of burglaries. Northwest Merchant Patrol was the security company hired by St. Mathew’s church and Oregon Episcopal School to provide extra patrol after hours. The new owner of Northwest Merchant Patrol and two of his employees were arrested and charged with burglary and theft.
On December 11, 2010, at 1:55 AM, Washington County Deputies were called to the Oregon Episcopal School (OES) located at 6300 SW Nicol Road in the community of Tigard concerning a burglary. It was reported to Sheriff’s Deputies that an employee of OES had witnessed two people steal items from the school.

Sheriff’s Deputies contacted 27-year-old Stirling Anderson from Wilsonville, and 21-year-old Sheldon McMillan from Beaverton at the school. Mr. Anderson became the new owner of Northwest Merchant Patrol earlier this year. Mr. McMillan is employed by Mr. Anderson. Northwest Merchant Patrol was hired to provide after hour security patrol at OES, they were working at the time.

Sheriff’s Deputies had responded to reports of burglaries at OES starting in April 2010. Investigators became suspicious when none of the burglaries had signs of forced entry.  Sheriff’s Deputies informed OES of their suspicions and they placed an employee in the school overnight to watch Northwest Merchant Patrol during their nightly patrol.

The OES employee saw Mr. Anderson and Mr. McMillan exiting the school with stolen property and asked them to wait while he called the Washington County Sheriff’s Office to investigate. Throughout the day today, Sheriff’s Detectives developed information and searched three residences recovering over a dozen laptops, several flat screen televisions, and digital cameras. The recovered property is expected to be valued over $100,000.

Stirling Anderson, Sheldon McMillan, and a third employee; 39-year-old David Smith from Wilsonville, were arrested and lodged in the Washington County Jail. They were all three charged with burglary and theft. More charges are expected as more victims are expected.

 

OSP Recovers Missing Lee Corso Game Day Mascot Head; Investigation Continuing 

 

The missing ESPN oversized Lee Corso Game Day mascot head believed to have been stolen Saturday afternoon in Corvallis, Oregon was recovered late Monday morning and is now in the hands of Oregon State Police (OSP).

According to OSP Lieutenant Jeff Lanz, an Oregon State University (OSU) employee called late Monday morning, December 6, saying the mascot head was placed by unknown person(s) near his personal vehicle at his Harrisburg-area residence. It is believed that whoever left the mascot head knew the vehicle’s owner was an OSU employee who has asked to not be identified at this time. The location which is aobut 27 miles from campus is also withheld pending an ongoing investigation.

The mascot head was reported stolen December 4, 2010 at 3:23 p.m. by an ESPN employee. Valued at approximately $5,000, the mascot head was last seen in a large container box at the Oregon State University Memorial Union Quad near ESPN transportation vehicles. Employees were clearing the Game Day set when the mascot head was noted missing from its container box.

Anyone with information regarding this theft investigation is asked to call the Oregon State Police OSU office (541) 737-3010.

OSP will make arrangements to return the property to ESPN.