Man arrested in fatal shooting in Sumpter
Man arrested in fatal shooting in Sumpter
Man arrested in fatal shooting in Sumpter
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xbaker 01-28 A08 jj 1/28/11 10:29 AM Page 1<br />
Page 8A Baker City Herald Baker City, Oregon, Friday, January 28, 2011<br />
NEWS<br />
Skier:<br />
Cont<strong>in</strong>ued from Page 1A<br />
Rasmussen said people <strong>in</strong><br />
Moncsko’s party searched<br />
for him, f<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>g him sometime<br />
after 3 p.m. He had collided<br />
with a tree and suffered<br />
head and neck <strong>in</strong>juries.<br />
The 9-1-1 dispatch center<br />
was called at 3:26 p.m. The<br />
Union County Sheriff’s Office,<br />
La Grande Fire and<br />
Ambulance and the Anthony<br />
Lakes Ski Patrol all responded.<br />
Moncsko was pronounced<br />
dead at the scene.<br />
It was the second <strong>fatal</strong>ity<br />
<strong>in</strong> two years at the ski area<br />
<strong>in</strong> the Elkhorn Mounta<strong>in</strong>s<br />
about 35 miles northwest of<br />
Baker City.<br />
On Feb. 28, 2010, Nathan<br />
Arbogast, 39, of Heppner,<br />
collided with a tree and died<br />
of <strong>in</strong>juries.<br />
Bill Rautenstrauch of The<br />
(La Grande) Observer contributed<br />
to this story.<br />
DANIEL MYERS<br />
Shoot<strong>in</strong>g:<br />
Cont<strong>in</strong>ued from Page 1A<br />
An ambulance was dispatched<br />
to the park<strong>in</strong>g lot after<br />
the shoot<strong>in</strong>g was reported to<br />
the Baker County Consolidated<br />
Dispatch Center at 3:10<br />
a.m.<br />
“This <strong>in</strong>itial <strong>in</strong>vestigation<br />
<strong>in</strong>dicates that Mr. Weems was<br />
shot by Daniel Myers outside<br />
of Myers’ home on Cracker<br />
Creek Road,” Baker County<br />
District Attorney Matt Shirtcliff<br />
said. “Weems was then<br />
driven by a friend <strong>in</strong>to<br />
<strong>Sumpter</strong> <strong>in</strong> an attempt to get<br />
emergency assistance.”<br />
Weems is a former Baker<br />
County resident.<br />
The Baker County Major<br />
Crime Team was activated<br />
Thursday morn<strong>in</strong>g and was<br />
jo<strong>in</strong>ed later <strong>in</strong> the day by members<br />
of the Union County Comb<strong>in</strong>ed<br />
Emergency Response<br />
Team. An estimated 30 officers<br />
from city, county and state<br />
agencies helped with the <strong>in</strong>vestigation<br />
and Myers’ arrest.<br />
Shirtcliff said the Union<br />
County team was called after<br />
Myers refused to come out of<br />
his house <strong>in</strong> a wooded area<br />
about a quarter of a mile north<br />
of <strong>Sumpter</strong>. Myers was <strong>arrested</strong><br />
about 3:30 p.m. Thursday.<br />
He was transported to the<br />
Baker County Jail where he is<br />
be<strong>in</strong>g held today.<br />
Shirtcliff said the case will<br />
go before a grand jury next<br />
week. He decl<strong>in</strong>ed to talk<br />
about any potential motive for<br />
the shoot<strong>in</strong>g.<br />
Weems’ body was taken to<br />
Portland where an autopsy will<br />
be performed today, Shirtcliff<br />
said.<br />
Shirtcliff said the day-long<br />
effort to apprehend Myers required<br />
careful plann<strong>in</strong>g.<br />
“A lot of work goes <strong>in</strong>to mak<strong>in</strong>g<br />
sure entry <strong>in</strong>to the home is<br />
done <strong>in</strong> a safe manner — for<br />
everybody,” he said.<br />
No shots were fired. About<br />
10 gunshot-like sounds could<br />
be heard <strong>in</strong> downtown<br />
<strong>Sumpter</strong> as officers attempted<br />
to make entry <strong>in</strong>to Myers’<br />
Baker City Herald/S. John Coll<strong>in</strong>s<br />
The car with the body of Travis<br />
Weems was left parked <strong>in</strong> front<br />
of the Elkhorn Restaurant,<br />
which is owned by Richard<br />
Epler.<br />
home. Shirtcliff said the noise<br />
was related to the Union County<br />
team’s deployment of a nonlethal<br />
gas-like chemical irritant<br />
that got Myers and two<br />
other people <strong>in</strong> the home to<br />
come out.<br />
About an hour after Myers<br />
was <strong>arrested</strong>, <strong>in</strong>vestigators, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g<br />
an Oregon State Police<br />
forensics vehicle, traveled<br />
down Cracker Creek Road to<br />
Myers’ house to process the<br />
scene. Police also <strong>in</strong>terviewed<br />
the other people who were at<br />
Myers’ home when he was <strong>arrested</strong>.<br />
Shirtcliff said Myers will be<br />
charged with the weapons<br />
crimes because of a 2006 L<strong>in</strong>coln<br />
County felony drug conviction.<br />
Two command posts were<br />
set up <strong>in</strong> <strong>Sumpter</strong> as the hunt<br />
for the suspect got under way<br />
Thursday morn<strong>in</strong>g. The county’s<br />
mobile communications<br />
unit was parked at City Hall<br />
on Mill Street and a second<br />
command center was set up <strong>in</strong><br />
the former <strong>Sumpter</strong> School<br />
build<strong>in</strong>g on the north end of<br />
town. Dozens of police vehicles<br />
were parked around town and<br />
Baker Co. Library<br />
Invites all New & Expectant Parents<br />
BABY SHOWER<br />
2011<br />
February 5 • 10:30 AM<br />
Jo<strong>in</strong> us for Brunch & Presents!<br />
"The greatness of a nation and<br />
its moral progress can be<br />
judged by the way its animals<br />
are treated." Mahatma Gandhi<br />
W<strong>in</strong>nie<br />
(F) 10 yrs Pomeranian<br />
Boss<br />
(M) 5 yrs, Malamute Cross<br />
at both command<br />
stations<br />
throughout<br />
the day.<br />
Sunsh<strong>in</strong>e<br />
warmed Carl<br />
and Dee<br />
Sw<strong>in</strong>yer as<br />
they sat on<br />
the porch of<br />
the Gold Post<br />
Country<br />
Gary Gunter<br />
Store with<br />
owner Gary Gunter for a frontrow<br />
seat to watch police activity<br />
as it unfolded.<br />
Dee Sw<strong>in</strong>yer said she heard<br />
about the shoot<strong>in</strong>g on the police<br />
scanner at her <strong>Sumpter</strong><br />
home as soon as dispatchers<br />
began pag<strong>in</strong>g the ambulance<br />
shortly after 3 a.m.<br />
“I’ve always had a scanner,<br />
even when they weren’t popular,”<br />
she said, add<strong>in</strong>g that the<br />
early morn<strong>in</strong>g wake-up call<br />
wasn’t much ahead of her usual<br />
ris<strong>in</strong>g time of between 3<br />
a.m. and 4 a.m.<br />
The Sw<strong>in</strong>yers and Gunter<br />
said they didn’t know Myers or<br />
Weems.<br />
But speculation about what<br />
exactly happened and where<br />
the shoot<strong>in</strong>g took place had<br />
been circulat<strong>in</strong>g through the<br />
community, Dee said. She expressed<br />
her concern for the officers<br />
and the suspect as the<br />
<strong>in</strong>vestigation cont<strong>in</strong>ued.<br />
“I just hope everybody is go<strong>in</strong>g<br />
to be OK,” she said.<br />
Richard Epler, who owns the<br />
Elkhorn Saloon with his wife,<br />
Sharyn, said they closed up<br />
about 11 Wednesday night after<br />
a local pool tournament<br />
had ended. Most nights they<br />
close by 8 p.m., he said.<br />
The couple lives a mile and<br />
a half south of the small Grant<br />
County community of Granite,<br />
15 miles northwest of <strong>Sumpter</strong>.<br />
The Eplers knew noth<strong>in</strong>g<br />
about the shoot<strong>in</strong>g or the police<br />
activity <strong>in</strong> town until their<br />
daughter, Carilyn Gibson, saw<br />
the commotion around her parents’<br />
bus<strong>in</strong>ess while walk<strong>in</strong>g to<br />
the store Thursday morn<strong>in</strong>g.<br />
She called about 8 a.m. to<br />
report that police had cordoned<br />
off the park<strong>in</strong>g lot of the<br />
Elkhorn Saloon with crime<br />
scene tape, Richard Epler said.<br />
The Eplers had to delay<br />
their usual noon open<strong>in</strong>g until<br />
about 2 p.m. Thursday. That’s<br />
when the Toyota Corolla <strong>in</strong><br />
which Weems’ body was found<br />
was towed away and their<br />
park<strong>in</strong>g lot was reopened. The<br />
car was towed to a secure location,<br />
Shirtcliff said.<br />
“Everybody’s wonder<strong>in</strong>g<br />
what’s go<strong>in</strong>g on,” Epler said,<br />
add<strong>in</strong>g that police were not<br />
provid<strong>in</strong>g any details.<br />
Epler said he did not know<br />
Weems and that Myers came<br />
<strong>in</strong>to his bus<strong>in</strong>ess only occasionally.<br />
The Eplers moved to<br />
<strong>Sumpter</strong> about six years ago<br />
after retir<strong>in</strong>g from jobs at the<br />
Fred Meyer distribution center<br />
<strong>in</strong> Clackamas.<br />
“We left that area to get<br />
away from that k<strong>in</strong>d of stuff,”<br />
Epler said of the violence that<br />
disrupted <strong>Sumpter</strong> on Thursday.<br />
Charlie<br />
(M) 6-9Mos, Lab Mix<br />
Rose<br />
(F) Kitten<br />
Baker City Herald/S. John Coll<strong>in</strong>s<br />
While leav<strong>in</strong>g the command center at the former <strong>Sumpter</strong> School build<strong>in</strong>g, Matt Shirtcliff, left, Baker<br />
County district attorney, said the suspect, Daniel Myers, had been <strong>arrested</strong>. Police were prepar<strong>in</strong>g to<br />
exam<strong>in</strong>e the suspect’s residence on Cracker Creek Road, about a quarter of a mile from <strong>Sumpter</strong>.<br />
Baker City Herald/S. John Coll<strong>in</strong>s<br />
Carl and Dee S w<strong>in</strong>yer of <strong>Sumpter</strong> watched police and tactical<br />
teams muster along the str eet <strong>in</strong> front of the Gold P ost Country<br />
Store Thursday afternoon.<br />
AC<br />
(M) Kitten<br />
Paige<br />
(F) Kitten<br />
Wounded officer will survive<br />
PORTLAND (AP) — Doctors say an Oregon police officer<br />
ambushed dur<strong>in</strong>g a traffic stop is recover<strong>in</strong>g from gunshots<br />
to his pelvis and abdomen that would have killed him if he<br />
hadn’t managed to call <strong>in</strong> the shoot<strong>in</strong>g to dispatchers, then<br />
been rushed to the hospital for surgery.<br />
One of the bullets fired by a man who’s still at large severed<br />
a major ve<strong>in</strong>, giv<strong>in</strong>g 45-year-old L<strong>in</strong>coln City Officer<br />
Steven Dodds just 15 to 30 m<strong>in</strong>utes to live.<br />
“He was able to call <strong>in</strong>,” L<strong>in</strong>coln City Police Chief Steven<br />
Bechard said. “That’s a testament to his endurance.”<br />
Dodds opened his eyes for the first time Thursday and is<br />
expected to survive, doctors at Portland’s Legacy Emanuel<br />
Hospital said.<br />
“He’s a strong guy and so stubborn,” said daughter Megan<br />
Dodds. “I know he’s not go<strong>in</strong>g to let himself down on this<br />
one.”<br />
Obituary<br />
Cont<strong>in</strong>ued from Page 2A<br />
Her parents owned an oil<br />
bus<strong>in</strong>ess at Baker City, so<br />
she was often seen by her<br />
dad’s side deliver<strong>in</strong>g oil all<br />
over Eastern Oregon.<br />
Nicki married Roger Allen<br />
Worral on Dec. 25, 1970, at<br />
La Grande.<br />
Their son, Allen Fredrick<br />
Worral, was born July of<br />
1972. Nicki worked diligently<br />
at various jobs <strong>in</strong> order to<br />
take care of her family. In<br />
June of 1980 the couple’s<br />
second son, George Gerald<br />
Worral, was born.<br />
They were divorced <strong>in</strong><br />
1986.<br />
In April of 1989, while<br />
dat<strong>in</strong>g Maurice Robert<br />
Moyes, she give birth to his<br />
daughter, who Nicki named<br />
Michelle-Marie Nicatie Worral.<br />
Nicki had various st<strong>in</strong>ts at<br />
a couple of different colleges.<br />
She dreamed of becom<strong>in</strong>g a<br />
teacher. She attended school<br />
part time here and there till<br />
she graduated from Eastern<br />
Oregon University with her<br />
master’s degree <strong>in</strong> education<br />
<strong>in</strong> the mid 1990s.<br />
She found <strong>in</strong>spiration <strong>in</strong><br />
be<strong>in</strong>g able to light up children’s<br />
eyes by teach<strong>in</strong>g them<br />
someth<strong>in</strong>g new, her family<br />
said. She worked throughout<br />
Baker County as a substitute<br />
teacher.<br />
Nicki loved play<strong>in</strong>g the viol<strong>in</strong><br />
and learn<strong>in</strong>g new<br />
th<strong>in</strong>gs, like how to play the<br />
fiddle. She was very passionate<br />
about theater and music.<br />
She performed <strong>in</strong> various<br />
plays and sang <strong>in</strong> numerous<br />
choirs.<br />
Nicki loved hunt<strong>in</strong>g, fish<strong>in</strong>g<br />
and camp<strong>in</strong>g with family<br />
and friends. She had numerous<br />
stories to tell of the old<br />
days when “Dad chased the<br />
elk down the hill and Mom<br />
and I jumped up and got two<br />
elk,” her family members<br />
said.<br />
She also <strong>in</strong>stilled <strong>in</strong> her<br />
children the importance of<br />
volunteerism and help<strong>in</strong>g<br />
others out. She had participated<br />
<strong>in</strong> many charity<br />
fundraisers from bak<strong>in</strong>g<br />
sweets to wrestl<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> a vat<br />
of mashed potatoes with her<br />
daughter. She was an active<br />
member of the Eagles and<br />
presided as president of the<br />
Past Presidents Association<br />
for the State Auxiliary <strong>in</strong><br />
past years.<br />
In 2002, Nicki’s father<br />
died leav<strong>in</strong>g her to care for<br />
her mother, who had<br />
Alzheimer’s disease. She quit<br />
teach<strong>in</strong>g and took on the<br />
new challenge. She loved<br />
car<strong>in</strong>g for her mother till she<br />
died on Valent<strong>in</strong>e’s Day<br />
2006. She was a lady of<br />
strength and courage.<br />
Nicatie always loved<br />
church and always sought<br />
refuge there. She was a<br />
member of the Baker City<br />
Christian Church. She is remembered<br />
by her family as<br />
an excellent, car<strong>in</strong>g, and lov<strong>in</strong>g<br />
mother and grandmother.<br />
“She was always there for<br />
her family and friends if<br />
somebody needed them.<br />
Countless times she has put<br />
her family before herself,<br />
even if it put her <strong>in</strong> harm’s<br />
way. She will be greatly<br />
missed,” family members<br />
said.<br />
Survivors <strong>in</strong>clude her son,<br />
Allen Worral of San Diego<br />
and his son, Chaz Worral;<br />
her son, George Worral of<br />
Baker City; her daughter<br />
and son-<strong>in</strong>-law, Michelle and<br />
Kyle Boudreau of Baker<br />
City; sister-<strong>in</strong>-law, Joanne<br />
Richardson of Worland,<br />
Wyo.; longtime boyfriend,<br />
Jerry Cohoe of Baker City;<br />
and many other cous<strong>in</strong>s and<br />
friends left beh<strong>in</strong>d to remember<br />
her stories, her<br />
smile, her love and her<br />
heart.<br />
She was preceded <strong>in</strong> death<br />
by her husband, Roger Worral;<br />
her parents; her brother,<br />
Dr. George Gerald Richardson;<br />
nephew, Trent Thomas<br />
Richardson; and <strong>in</strong>fant son,<br />
Roger Worral.<br />
Memorial contributions<br />
may be made to Alzheimer’s<br />
Research through Coles<br />
Tribute Center, 1950 Place<br />
St., Baker City, OR 97814.<br />
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