In brief: Officer kills wife, other woman, self
GRESHAM, Ore. – An off-duty Clackamas County sheriff’s sergeant opened fire at a lounge late Friday night, killing his wife and another woman before taking his own life, police said.
Jeffrey Grahn, 46, a patrol sergeant for the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office, shot three women about 9:30 p.m. at the M & M Restaurant and Lounge before shooting and killing himself, Gresham police said Saturday. Investigators said the shooting appears to be a domestic violence issue.
Kathleen Hoffmeister, 53, was pronounced dead at the scene. Grahn’s wife, Charlotte Grahn, 47, was transported to Legacy Emanuel Medical Center where she died on Saturday afternoon.
A third woman, Victoria Schulmerich, was transported to OHSU Hospital and was in critical condition, police said.
Grahn had filed for divorce last August. He and his wife had been married at least 17 years and have four children.
The Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office said Grahn was hired in February 1995 and was promoted to sergeant in August 2003.
Facebook aids in arrest of fugitive
MEDFORD, Ore. – A tip on a Facebook page has led to the arrest of a southern Oregon man trying to escape charges of felony sexual assault.
The Mail Tribune reported that Laramie Torres, 35, was arrested in Erie, Pa. He is charged in Medford with 10 counts of first-degree rape and 10 counts of first-degree sodomy for abuse of a girl that started when she was 11 and continued until she was 15.
Torres was indicted on Nov. 22 and then fled Oregon.
Friends and family of the victim in the case started a Facebook page dedicated to collecting tips about where Torres was. A tip in Michigan eventually led police to Pennsylvania, where a Pennsylvania State Police trooper was able to track Torres to an apartment in Erie.
Torres is being held in the Erie County Jail on $250,000 bail, pending extradition.
Fish project will cost $36.5 million
BILLINGS – Federal officials say it will cost $36.5 million to replace the Intake Diversion Dam on the Yellowstone River to create a fish passage to help bolster pallid sturgeon, an endangered species.
A draft environmental assessment released Friday by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation says replacing the existing structure with a rock ramp would open 165 miles of river for spawning.
The diversion dam is located 18 miles northwest of Glendive. It provides irrigation water to more than 54,000 acres in Eastern Montana.
But the dam prevents pallid sturgeon from migrating upstream to spawn. Also, the dam’s canals are estimated to trap 500,000 fish of 36 species annually because there are no screens on headgates.
Fleeing man found dead below bridge
ESTACADA, Ore. – Oregon State Police said a man who ran from the scene of a traffic stop and was later found dead in a creek at the base of a bridge was wanted on a felony warrant.
Troopers said they attempted to pull over Kelly Joe Dillard, 41, about 1 a.m. Saturday. He was clocked driving 95 mph in a 55 mph speed zone. The trooper chasing Dillard was forced to overtake the vehicle to get the car stopped on the shoulder. As the trooper approached, Dillard got out of his vehicle and fled on foot into the dark.
A canine unit from the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office arrived and started to track the man. About five minutes later, troopers reported spotting Dillard face down in Eagle Creek about 100 feet below the bridge. Fire personnel from Estacada rappelled down to the location and confirmed he was dead.
Oregon State Police said Dillard was wanted on a felony warrant for absconding parole issued by the state.