drugs

Driver who struck children's author John Dashney pleads not guilty

The driver who struck a visually impaired children's author and later told police that she had smoked marijuana before the crash pleaded not guilty on two charges in in Marion County Circuit Court on Friday.

On May 29, Rose Litherland, 58, was driving north on 17th Street NE when she hit John Dashney, 70, who was walking in a marked crosswalk at Chemeketa Street NE.

Litherland later told police that she had smoked marijuana an hour before the crash and still could feel the effects. Litherland has been charged with DUI and second-degree assault.

Oregon's DMV records show that Litherland does not have a current driver's license in the state.

In 2009, Litherland was convicted of delivery of methamphetamine and marijuana, both felonies, according to online court records.

Litherland will next appear in Marion County Circuit Court on July 17.

NOTE:  Rose is held without bail under an ICE hold according to the MCCF. Read more about Driver who struck children's author John Dashney pleads not guilty

Police arrest woman who was carrying cash

The Medford Area Drug and Gang Enforcement team said it seized more than $22,000 in cash Tuesday that is believed to be proceeds from drug sales.

MADGE Lt. Brett Johnson said the cash was intercepted on a bus traveling south to California.

The case came together through a tip. MADGE assisted Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Department of Homeland Security investigators, Johnson said.  "We don't often get the money as it's heading south," he said.

Investigators contacted Marisol Resendiz-Pineda, 27, on the bus and found her in possession of $22,136 in cash.

Resendiz-Pineda, of Panorama, Calif., was arrested on a money laundering charge and was lodged in the Jackson County Jail without bail.

In addition, ICE charged her with suspicion of being in the country illegally. Read more about Police arrest woman who was carrying cash

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MADGE officers arrest five on drug and weapons charges

Medford Area Drug and Gang Enforcement investigators arrested five men, including a suspected gang member, Friday on drug and weapons charges.

MADGE officers served a search warrant at 402 S. Columbus Ave. in Medford in the early morning hours and found a small amount of methamphetamine, records of drug transactions and three firearms, officials said.

One of the guns had been reported stolen in a Medford burglary and had an obliterated serial number, officials said.

Joshua Raymond Morales, 19, was arrested on a probation violation. MADGE believes Morales is a member of the Sureño gang.

Alberto Esquivel-Esquivel, 36, was arrested on charges of possession, delivery and manufacture of methamphetamine and being a felon in possession of a firearm. He remains lodged in the Jackson County Jail on $60,000 bail [ILLEGAL ALIEN].

Tony Santiago Martinez, 33, was arrested on charges of possession of methamphetamine and obliterating or changing the serial number on a firearm. He was lodged on $15,000 bail.

Jaime Alvarado-Reyes, 30, was arrested on charges of interfering with police and resisting arrest. He was lodged on $8,000 bail [ILLEGAL ALIEN].

Ruben Nava-Castenada, 22, was charged with possession of methamphetamine. He was lodged on $10,000 bail [ILLEGAL ALIEN].

A juvenile at the residence was cited and released for possession of methamphetamine.

The MADGE team is a multi-jurisdictional drug and gang task force supported by the Oregon High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Program and includes the following law enforcement agencies: Medford Police Department, Jackson County Sheriff's Office, Oregon State Police, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Jackson County District Attorney's Office and Jackson County Community Justice.
  Read more about MADGE officers arrest five on drug and weapons charges

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Governor ignores criminal activity by illegal aliens

Alert date: 
June 4, 2012
Alert body: 

In Governor Kitzhaber’s Executive Order of May 11, "Reconvening the Governor's Commission on Public Safety," he said:

"According to FBI statistics, crime rates have decreased across the United States over the past 30 years and Oregon is no exception. Both violent crime and property crimes have fallen. Oregon also has been recognized for its efforts to reduce recidivism and for its support of evidence-based practices.”

What Kitzhaber ignores is the fact that while crime rates have fallen in Oregon we have seen a 21 percent increase in the number of inmates with ICE holds at the Oregon State Penitentiary over the past 4 years! The governor purposely ignores the criminal activity by illegal aliens.

Comparing DOC illegal alien incarceration numbers from March 1, 2008 (1,061 criminal aliens) to March 1, 2012 (1,285 criminal aliens), there has been a 21% increase over the 4 years (See table).

OREGON DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS

Month/Day/Year

DOC Total Inmates W/ICE detainers

DOC Inmates W/ICE detainers # Increase or (Decrease) from Previous Year

DOC Inmates W/ICE detainers % Increase or (Decrease) from Previous Year

March 1, 2008

1,061
————
————

March 1, 2009

1,165
104
9.80%

March 1, 2010

1,238
73
6.27%

March 1, 2011

1,261
23
1.86%

March 1, 2012

1,285
24
1.90%
Total
224
21.11%

Source: Research and Evaluation DOC Unit-ICE inmates lists 01 MARCH 08rtf – 01 MARCH 12.rtf and Inmate Population Profile 01 MARCH 08 – 01 MARCH 12.

Not waiting for the Commission on Public Safety to consider the matter, Governor Kitzhaber has ordered Oregon State Police to accept the Mexican matricular card as a valid ID. Expect crimes by illegal aliens to continue to rise.

We encourage you to call your state senator and house member and tell them you oppose the governor’s order.

Click here to find the phone number for your state senator and house member.

If you haven’t called the governor’s office in protest of his misguided order please do.

Governor John Kitzhaber
Webform for e-mail  click here.
Phone number: (503) 378-4582; Fax: 503-378-6827
Mailing address:

160 State Capitol, 900 Court St., Salem OR 97301-4047

You can see the Executive Order reconvening the Commission on Public Safety by visiting

and clicking on 2012 pdf files . It is Exec. Order 12-08, first on the list. Its language is very general, leaving open a wide field for discussion.

You can see the Governor’s speech to the May Day crowd by logging on to:

Governor's public promise to the May Day rally .

In it he says he wants to change the driver's license laws to remove the requirement for proof of citizenship or legal presence.

The general public did not get a chance to read the full text of his letter to the May Day crowd; it is publicly available only through a posting by a reporter on The Oregonian’s website. So, instead of transparency in government, the highest state official is managing the news sub rosa. This May Day message on consular IDs should have been posted on the Governor’s website for all to see.

YCINT Seizes over quarter pound of methamphetamine

On May 31, the Yamhill County Interagency Narcotics Team (YCINT) conducted an operation in the City of Woodburn which resulted in the arrest of a mid to upper level methamphetamine dealer. Enrique Hidalgo Sanchez, 45 years of age was taken into custody without incident at approximately 1:10 p.m. at the McDonald's restaurant located at 2910 Newberg Highway.

After a Yamhill County narcotics canine alerted to the exterior of Sanchez's vehicle, a search was conducted. This led detectives to a hidden stash compartment located in the dash of the vehicle. Over a quarter pound of methamphetamine was secreted in the compartment.

Sanchez, who claimed to be a transient living out of motels, was lodged at the Marion County Jail on charges of Possession and Delivery of Methamphetamine. The bail was enhanced due to the substantial quantity involved, but an immigration hold has been placed on him at this time.

Sheriff Jack Crabtree pointed out that although Sanchez was arrested in the City of Woodburn, the impact to Yamhill County is what the team is focusing on. "We know that a portion of these drugs were intended for the streets of Yamhill County. YCINT will go where they are required to impact the availability of drugs in our community."

YCINT was assisted in the investigation by the Yamhill County Sheriff's Office, the Newberg-Dundee Police Department and the Oregon State Police.

Anyone with information on this case or any similar case is encouraged to contact Sgt. Chris Ray of YCINT at 503-434-7506. Read more about YCINT Seizes over quarter pound of methamphetamine

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Vancouver man arrested in international drug investigation

A 31-year-old Vancouver man has been arrested on suspicion of involvement in an international synthetic marijuana trafficking conspiracy, according to the Oregon district of the U.S. Department of Justice.

Ryan A. Scott, 31, of Vancouver pleaded not guilty May 16 in federal court in Oregon to multiple charges revolving around a conspiracy to manufacture and distribute synthetic marijuana. He was released on conditions pending trial, according to a justice department news release.

Scott was one of four people arrested in connection with a trafficking investigation first launched in early 2011 by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the Internal Revenue Service and the Drug Enforcement Administration. Lead defendant Alexander Dimov, 33, of Bulgaria was arrested May 15 on the island of Molokai in Hawaii and was detained for transport to Oregon.

“With these arrests, HSI has halted a multi-million dollar business that we believe was a threat to public health and safety,” said Brad Bench, acting special agent at HSI Seattle, in a statement.

The suspects allegedly conspired to manufacture and distribute synthetic marijuana with unsafe chemicals banned by DEA, mixing them with herb extracts and marketing them as “incense” online with dozens of domain names, including k2incense.org. A well-known synthetic marijuana product was called Spice.

Federal agents used search warrants May 15 to seize hundreds of pounds of dried plant materials, packaging equipment and chemicals found in the defendants’ residences and a warehouse in Vancouver.

“Buying incense to put in marijuana pipes is like playing Russian roulette because the consumer has no idea what chemicals in are in the base plant material,” said Commander Mike Cooke of the Clark-Skamania Drug Task Force. “You have no way to tell if there is a banned illegal substance in it. Incense isn’t supposed to have banned ingredients, but the consumer doesn’t have a way to know that.”

Side effects of the banned chemicals can include rapid heartbeat, hallucinations and psychotic state, Cooke said.

“It’s not uncommon for people to be transported to the ER with Spice,” he said.

The defendants’ trial is set for July 10 in U.S. District Court.

NOTE:  On May 15, 2012, law enforcement officers from local and federal agencies and led by ICE arrested lead defendant Alexander Dimov, 33, on the island of Molokai in Hawaii. Dimov, a Bulgarian national currently in overstay status, appeared in federal court in Honolulu and was detained for transport to Oregon.

  Read more about Vancouver man arrested in international drug investigation

Illegal Alien Gets 15 Years on Meth Charges

MEDFORD, Ore. -- An illegal alien who was deported back to Mexico for trafficking in methamphetamine and cocaine -- but returned and did it again, until a Highway 97 traffic stop -- has been sentenced to more than 15 years in federal prison, prosecutors said Monday.

Omar Cuevas-Vasquez, 34, from Michoacan, Mexico was sentenced to federal prison for possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute it and illegally reentering the country.

Senior U.S. District Judge Owen M. Panner sentenced Cuevas- Vasquez to 188 months in prison for the drug trafficking offense and 120 months for illegally reentering the United States following an earlier deportation; both sentences to be served concurrently.

Judge Panner also sentenced Martin Mendoza, 22, from Los Banos, California to 35 months in prison for his role in possessing methamphetamine with intent to distribute it.

On February 2, 2011, Oregon State Police stopped a vehicle for a traffic violation on Highway 97 north of Klamath Falls.

Martin Mendoza was driving the vehicle and Omar Cuevas-Vasquez was a passenger. They were both traveling from Los Banos, California to the state of Washington.

During the traffic stop, officers conducted a search of the vehicle and discovered a specially designed and hidden compartment between the rear seat and trunk. The hidden compartment contained six vacuum-sealed packages containing methamphetamine, each wrapped in cellophane, duct tape, fabric softener, baby powder and pepper.

A subsequent detailed search of the entire vehicle revealed a comprehensive wiring system that triggered a piston to unlock the trunk latch and trigger a trap door to open the hidden compartment.

Subsequent laboratory analysis of the drugs revealed an extremely high purity level with over 4 1/2 pounds of pure methamphetamine.

Likewise, an analysis also revealed latent fingerprints of Cuevas-Vasquez on the packaging material. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents determined that the methamphetamine was to be delivered to the Sunnyside and Yakama areas of Washington, where it was to be distributed.

Cuevas-Vasquez was previously convicted of drug trafficking in 2000 in the Eastern District of Washington. At that time, Cuevas-Vasquez was trafficking in methamphetamine and cocaine.

Cuevas-Vasquez received a 24-month federal prison sentence and was thereafter deported from the United States. A short time later, Cuevas-Vasquez returned illegally to the United States and again engaged in drug trafficking activities in vastly larger quantities of methamphetamine.

The investigation determined that Mendoza was brought into the drug trafficking scheme for the limited purpose of helping drive the vehicle to Washington on the one occasion.

The case was investigated by the Oregon State Police and Immigration and Customs Enforcement and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Byron Chatfield. Read more about Illegal Alien Gets 15 Years on Meth Charges

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You just have to wonder...

Almost every day we could report on the arrest of another illegal alien drug dealer in Oregon. It has gotten to the point that the arrest of one or two is no longer newsworthy. However the arrest of 15 in one drug bust - that is newsworthy. As you would expect, many had ICE holds placed on them.

Hundreds of people in Oregon die each year because of drug overdoses. The High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area team reports that the cost to Oregon of illicit drug use is estimated at over $3 billion a year. Yet elected state officials seem unable to connect the dots.

You just have to wonder how many of the 15 had the highly coveted Matricular Consular cards? You know, the faux Oregon driver license that Governor Kitzhaber is allowing illegal aliens to use for identification so they can drive to their illegally held jobs.

Read the full article.

Read more about You just have to wonder...

Fifteen arrested in multi-agency drug sweep

Approximately 90 city, state and federal police officers swarmed across the Rogue Valley Thursday in one of the largest methamphetamine busts in recent history.

Fifteen people were lodged in the Jackson County Jail on felony drug charges as part of Operation Clear Green, which focused on a group responsible for selling pounds of meth per week, Medford police Lt. Brett Johnson said.

A yearlong investigation into the group turned up enough evidence for eight search warrants served in Medford, Eagle Point, White City and Central Point on Thursday, Johnson said.

"We've been watching this organization closely since we first learned about them last year," Johnson said.

The case began last summer when Jackson County sheriff's deputies raided a large outdoor marijuana garden. A thousand plants were pulled from the garden by the Southern Oregon Multi-Agency Marijuana Eradication (SOMMER) team.

SOMMER then shared their findings with the Medford Area Drug and Gang Enforcement (MADGE) team during a briefing. The teams found that many of the same suspects appeared in two separate drug investigations headed by both agencies, Johnson said.

Over the past year, SOMMER and MADGE learned that a large group of suspects were working together to move meth throughout the county.

The agencies brought in officers from the Talent, Ashland, Central Point, Phoenix, Oregon State Police, Grants Pass, Klamath Falls, and several federal agencies including the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to serve warrants at eight locations tied to the drug traffickers Thursday morning.

The drug houses were located on McLoughlin Drive in Central Point, Yankee Creek Road in Eagle Point and Vilas Road in Medford.

The warrants turned up 3 pounds of methamphetamine, marijuana plants, an ounce of heroin, a small amount of cocaine, 1 pound of dried marijuana, three handguns, two rifles and $30,000 in cash, believed to be proceeds from drug sales.

Among those arrested were:

- Benardo Parra-Chavez, 28, of Central Point, was arrested on eight counts of delivery of methamphetamine and eight counts of manufacture of methamphetamine. He was lodged in jail on $4 million bail [Illegal Alien].

- Stephanie Huff, 23, of Medford, was charged with delivery of methamphetamine, manufacture of methamphetamine, possession of methamphetamine and first-degree child neglect. She was lodged in jail on $530,000 bail.

- Juan Garcia-Ledezma, 28, of Medford, was charged with five counts of delivery of methamphetamine and five counts of possession of methamphetamine. He was lodged on $2,550,000 bail [Illegal Alien].

- Hugo Flores-Galvan, 25, of Medford was charged with delivery, possession, manufacture of methamphetamine and marijuana. He was lodged in jail on more than $1 million bail [Illegal Alien].

- Antonio Alonzo-Gomez, 43, of Medford, was charged with three counts each of delivery, manufacture and possession of methamphetamine. He was lodged on more than $1 million bail.

- Hector Saldana-Madrigal, 38, of White City, was charged with delivery and possession of methamphetamine. He was lodged on $510,000 bail [Illegal Alien].

- Victor Zaragosa-Infante, 53, of Medford, was charged with two counts each of delivery and possession of methamphetamine. He was lodged on more than $1 million bail.

- Jose Zamora-Tovar, 48, of White City, was charged with delivery, manufacture and possession of methamphetamine. He was lodged on $60,000 bail [Illegal Alien].

- Julie Nichole Parke, 33, of Eagle Point, was charged with possession of methamphetamine. She was lodged on $10,000 bail.

- Bernie George Helms, 21, no known address, was charged with a probation violation. He was lodged on $5,000 bail.

- Jeffrey Baltazar, 35, Victor Solis-Guzman, 24 and Alberto Salcedo-Jimenez, 28, all of Medford, were cited and released for possession of methamphetamine.

In addition, two juveniles were arrested on probation violations and lodged at the Jackson County Juvenile Detention Center in Medford. Read more about Fifteen arrested in multi-agency drug sweep

Official: 49 bodies left on Mexico highway

MONTERREY, Mexico (AP) — Forty-nine decapitated and mutilated bodies were found Sunday dumped on a highway connecting the northern Mexican metropolis of Monterrey to the U.S. border in what appears to be the latest blow in an escalating war of intimidation among drug gangs.

Mexico's organized crime groups often abandon multiple bodies in public places as warnings to their rivals, and authorities said at least a few of the recent victims had tattoos of the Santa Muerte cult popular among drug traffickers. But Nuevo Leon state Attorney General Adrian de la Garza said he did not rule out the possibility that the victims were U.S.-bound migrants.

The bodies of the 43 men and six women were found in the town of San Juan on the non-toll highway to the border city of Reynosa at about 4 a.m. (5 a.m. EDT; 0900 GMT), forcing police and troops to close off the highway. Nuevo Leon state security spokesman Jorge Domene said at a news conference that a banner left at the site bore a message with the Zetas drug cartel taking responsibility for the massacre.

Domene said the fact the bodies were found with the heads, hands and feet cut off will make identification difficult. The bodies were being taken to Monterrey for DNA tests.

De la Garza said the victims could have been killed as long as two days ago at another location, then transported to San Juan, a town in Cadereyta municipality, about 105 miles (175 kilometers) west-southwest of McAllen, Texas, or 75 miles (125 kilometers) southwest of the Roma, Texas, border crossing.

Mexican drug cartels have been waging an increasingly bloody war to control smuggling routes, the local drug market and extortion rackets, including shakedowns of migrants seeking to reach the United States.

A drug gang allied with the Sinaloa cartel left 35 bodies at a freeway overpass in the city of Veracruz in September, and police found 32 other bodies, apparently killed by the same gang, a few days after that. The goal apparently was to take over territory that had been dominated by the Zetas. Twenty-six bodies were found in November in Guadalajara, another territory being disputed by the Zetas and the Sinaloa group.

So far this month, 23 bodies were found dumped or hanging in the city of Nuevo Laredo and 18 were found along a highway south of Guadalajara, Mexico's second-largest city.

In April, police found the mutilated bodies of 14 men in a minivan abandoned in downtown Nuevo Laredo, along with a message from an undisclosed drug gang. Also in April, the tortured and bound bodies of seven men were dumped in the Pacific port city of Lazaro Cardenas along with messages signed by allies of the Sinaloa drug gang.

Officials last year found 193 bodies in mass graves in the Tamaulipas state town of San Fernando. They were believed to have been migrants killed by the Zetas drug cartel. Another 72 migrants, many of them from Central America, were found slain in San Fernando in 2010.
  Read more about Official: 49 bodies left on Mexico highway

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