All Issues and News

Welcome to the OFIR Issues and News page.  All issue and news articles are consolidated here for viewing. 

Report cites I-5 as major drug corridor
Interstate's uninterrupted course between Canada, Mexico ideal for traffickers
StatesmanJournal.com

Illegal drugs continue to be a major problem for the state of Oregon — the manufacture of them, the use of them, the illicit sale of them and even their transportation, according to a report from the Oregon High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area program.

Between January 2008 and the end of March 2012, authorities traced nearly $10 million in drug money seizures back to Oregon.

The connection to the state was determined through certain conditions: either the vehicle used for drug transportation or the driver’s license was registered to an Oregon address.

According to the...

Philomath man pleads guilty in double murder
Corvallis Gazette-Times

A 22-year-old Philomath man pleaded guilty Friday to two counts of aggravated murder in the 2011 killings of his girlfriend and their infant child.

Gustavo David Martinez-Aquepucho faces two potential life sentences in the deaths of Kelsey Rozetta Baker, 19, and their 1-year-old son, Theo, on April 29 of last year.

Martinez-Aquepucho, in shackles and black-and-white-striped jail uniform, sat silently in a Corvallis courtroom with about 20 people looking on while prosecutors and defense attorneys met behind closed doors.

After several minutes of deliberation, the...

Report: County is near top for drug abuse
It's No. 1 and 2 for prescription drugs and meth statewide
Southern Oregon's News Source - The Mail Tribune

It came as no surprise to Jackson County's narcotics officers and addiction treatment specialists that the region ranks high in Oregon in meth and prescription drug abuse.

The numbers come from a report released this week by the Oregon High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Program, or HIDTA.

The report noted that Jackson County has most people per capita who seek treatment for prescription medication abuse. The county also ranks second, behind Umatilla County, in the number of people per 10,000 who are treated for methamphetamine addiction.

"This number is both good...

Two Woodburn men arrested for organized theft crime
StatesmanJournal.com

A three-month long investigation lead to the arrest of two Woodburn men accused of buying and reselling stolen property.

Woodburn Police Capt. Jason Alexander said that Mario Paniagua, 35, and Adolfo Zarate Cabrera, 33, would send men to steal things from other stores and then resell the items in La Tienda Mexicana La Azteca, 153 Grant St.

Police served a search warrant at the store and a residence at 12549 McKee School Road, where they seized a significant amount of stolen property, police said.

The two are charged with racketeering, money laundering and attempted...

OFIR VP published in Washington Times

Rick LaMountain is a talented writer often published in The Oregonian.  LaMountain has a gift for making a clear point and did just that, in a well sourced commentary about unions and their involvement in illegal immigration issues.

OSP Traffic Stop Leads to Seizure of 2 lbs of Heroin, Arrests of 3 People in Douglas and Yamhill Counties
Oregon State Police

A traffic stop Saturday morning by Oregon State Police (OSP) troopers on Interstate 5 north of Canyonville led to the arrest of two men after the discovery of approximately 2 pounds of heroin concealed in their vehicle. Follow up investigation by OSP Drug Enforcement Section detectives and troopers also led to the arrest of a wanted person in Newberg.

On September 1, 2012 at approximately 7:09 a.m. an OSP trooper stopped a 2004 Chevrolet Impala displaying Washington license plates northbound on Interstate 5 near milepost 102 for a speed violation. The two occupants were identified...

Judge OKs 'show me your papers' portion of SB 1070
Associated Press

PHOENIX - A federal judge has ruled that Arizona authorities can enforce the most contentious section of the state's immigration law, which critics have dubbed the "show me your papers'' provision.

"With this provision, Arizona makes a clear statement that it will not tolerate sanctuary city policies, and will now have thousands of additional officers to collaborate with the federal government as state and local law enforcement do what they always have: enforce the law," said Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer in a statement.

The ruling Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton...

1,240 foreign nationals (criminal aliens) incarcerated in DOC prison system
Oregon legislators must pass Legislation to help recoup the $34,660,710.00 incarceration costs
OFIR

According to the Oregon Department of Corrections (DOC) Inmate Population Profile dated August 1, 2012 DOC indicated there were 14,215 prisoners incarcerated in DOC’s 14 prisons (See attachment).

Not included in DOC’s August 1st Inmate Population Profile was DOC data indicating there were 1,240 foreign nationals (criminal aliens) incarcerated in its prison system (See attachment).

All 1,240 criminal aliens incarcerated on August 1st by DOC had United States (U.S.) Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), detainers. The U.S. DHS–ICE is...

Oregon identified as a “sanctuary” for criminal aliens by USDOJ, the federal governments top law enforcement agency
taxpayers pick up the $34,660,710.00 bill
OFIR

A review of the 1,240 criminal aliens in the DOC prison population by numbers per crime and percentage (%) per crime equated to the following:

4-arsons (0.32%), 131-assaults (10.56%), 25-burglaries (2.02%), 29-driving offenses (2.34%), 171-drugs (13.79%), 4-forgeries (0.32%), 154-homicides (12.42%), 50-kidnappings (4.03%), 69-others (5.56%), 178-rapes (14.35%), 81-robberies (6.53%), 230-sex abuses (18.55%), 95-sodomies (7.66%), 12-thefts (0.97%), and 7-vehicle thefts (0.56%).
 

No member of the Oregon State Legislature should forget the uncounted crime victims and...

Albany man charged with sex crimes
democratherald.com

An Albany man has been arrested on sex crime charges.

Miguel Lopez-Garcia, 35, faces charges of two counts of first-degree sexual abuse, and first degree unlawful sexual penetration.

He was being held at the Linn County Jail and his initial bail was set at $150,000.

Lopez-Garcia also has a federal immigration hold.

On Aug. 22, Albany Police Department received a report from a 12-year-old female that Lopez-Garcia, whom she knew, had abused her about a year-and-a-half ago.

Detectives obtained a search warrant for Lopez-Garcia’s residence in the 400 block...

Pages