Oregon ballot initiative Measure 73, which passed in November, goes into effect on Dec 2.  It will result in significantly increased penalties for 3rd offense DUII (drunk driving) charges as well as repeat sex offenders. [read more...]

Measure 73 was up for debate this past week in the Legislature. The measure would stiffen penalties for both sex offenders and drunk drivers. Support for the measure is low, however, given the cost and the current financial climate. [read more...]

“Dumb Criminal” stories are pretty popular on television and on the web. They seem to drive a wedge between the “normal” people and suspected criminals. Although they typically only represent a very small portion of those people accused of crime, they are entertaining nonetheless. [read more...]

A man discovered to have swindled nearly $1 million from his former employer paid all of the money back before trial but was still sentenced to serve 3 years and 7 months in prison according to Oregon Live. According to the story, this man wasn’t just a clerk stealing a few dollars out of the cash drawer—he was the Chief Financial Officer and shareholder for a pool liner company. [read more...]

A California man was sentenced this week in Federal court for crimes that required a lot of planning and financing but unfortunately for him, little payout. According to the Seattle Sun-Times, the 61 year old defendant was sentenced to 4 years in prison and 4 on supervised release. [read more...]

A 22 year old man has been charged with some extremely unusual cases in Oregon and may be connected to additional crimes of the same odd nature in Texas. The cases involve involuntary haircuts and gluing that have occurred everywhere from the city buses to the movie theater. [read more...]

Have you ever flown across the country only to lose your bags? Or even worse, have you received your bags but noticed some things were missing from inside? Despite the fact that the airline industry has made billions over the past year in baggage fees, they still can’t guarantee our bags will arrive safely, particularly when handlers are helping themselves to the contents. [read more...]

Gift cards intended for disabled children were stolen and used for things like a Wii and a camera in this recent case from Multnomah County. [read more...]

A Portland woman was arrested at the Jantzen Beach Red Lion Hotel bar where she works this week marking a growing trend in identity theft and credit card fraud. Noelle McDonald was served with a warrant for failure to appear but also faces several additional charges in the area.

Clackamas County, OR Sherriff’s office states that McDonald is facing at least 5 charges of identity theft in addition to the failure to appear charge. Identity theft involves using someone else’s personal information as your own. This could mean using their social security number to get a credit card or apply for a loan. In McDonald’s case it seems she was using the information of people who trusted her to open credit accounts. [read more...]

Methamphetamine continues to be a major problem in Oregon. This highly addictive drug affects not only the addicts, but their families and even our communities. This story from CNN’s Anderson Cooper demonstrates just how heartbreaking this drug can be to the people in our neighborhoods.

Last month William and Tracy Morgan were pulled over when a police officer noticed their children, in the back seat, were not buckled in. What he found was that mother and father were under the influence of meth and had the drugs in the car as well as at the hotel they were staying in with their 5 children.

All 5 children, ages 5 to 10, are now wards of the state while their parents face charges of possession of methamphetamines and multiple charges of endangering the welfare of a minor. What will happen to this particular family is unclear. However, Mr. and Mrs. Morgan will both likely serve some time in jail for their offenses.

This is a single case that represents many across our state. Meth continues to be a problem despite tough criminal penalties. The reason for this is because of its extremely addictive nature. Simply throwing someone in jail will not help them get better. [read more...]