Deputies Focus on Impaired Superbowl Drivers - 02/05/10
This Sunday is Superbowl 44; the New Orleans Saints versus the Indianapolis Colts. Millions of fans will be gathering to watch the game and cheer on their team!

The Marion County Sheriff's Office is acutely aware that "Super Bowl Sunday" has become one of the nation's most dangerous days on the roadways due to impaired driving.

In collaboration with other State and local law enforcement agencies we will be stepping up our enforcement effort on Sunday, February 7th. Our goal is to make this day a safe one for every citizen of Marion County. The focus of our deputies will be on identifying and arresting impaired and reckless drivers on the roads in Marion County.

We hope that all of our citizens enjoy Superbowl 44, but remind them to act responsibly and pass their keys to a designated driver. If one is not available call a cab or spend the night and drive home on Monday.

According to Sergeant James Krieger, Supervisor of the MCSO Traffic Safety Team, "The possible penalty for drinking and driving is more than just a yellow flag; it's the loss of someone's life"

Just like any other day, if you're going to be on the road on Sunday, be sure to buckle up… it's your best defense against other impaired drivers. Be especially watchful and report possible impaired or reckless drivers to 9-1-1

More information is also available at www.StopImpairedDriving.org

Public's help needed in locating a wanted suspect - 02/02/10
The Marion County Sheriff's Office is asking for your assistance in locating a wanted suspect.

Thirty-five-year old Javier Jose Barrios is wanted for Rape I, three counts of Sexual Abuse II and Custodial interference I. A felony warrant has been issued for his arrest following a criminal investigation into his sexual contact with an underage female.

Javier Jose Barrios is 5'5" tall, weighs 148 pounds, with a date of birth of 12/22/1974. He has black hair and brown eyes; with noticeable scars above both eyes.

He is known to drive a 1993 Oldsmobile 2-dr, bluish green in color, with Oregon plates: 992 BKD. He may also be driving a dark-colored Ford F-350 work truck, with unknown license plates.

Barrios frequents the apartments in the 3600 & 3700 blocks of Beverly Avenue NE, in Salem, but he hasn't been seen there for several weeks.

This case is being investigated by Detective Ted Burwell of the Criminal Investigations Unit. If you have any information to assist in the apprehension of Barrios, please contact Detective Burwell at 503.540.8007 or Tburwell@co.marion.or.us

Sex Offender Notification - 02/02/10
The Marion County Sheriff's Office releases the following sexual offender information pursuant to ORS 181.507 & OAR 291-28-38. These statutes authorize the release of such information when it will enhance the public's safety and protection.

Michael Lee Secoy has been convicted of Rape I and Sodomy I; both offenses that require registration with the Sheriff's Office. He was previously convicted for sexually abusing a minor female who was known to him. Mr. Secoy's criminal history places him in a classification level which reflects the potential to re-offend. He is known to frequent downtown Salem.

Mr. Secoy was granted post prison supervision on 07/16/02 with the following restrictions: no contacts with minors (male or female), required participation in sexual offender treatment, no use of alcohol and submission to polygraph testing. Mr. Secoy is on post-prison supervision and is not wanted at this time.

Mr. Secoy is described as:

Sex: Male
Race: White
DOB: 10/13/1957 (52 years)
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 195
Hair: Red
Eye: Hazel

The Sheriff's Office reminds citizens that abuse of this information to threaten, harass or intimidate registered offenders will not be tolerated, and may be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Mr. Secoy's Parole Officer is Deputy Sophie Polonsky, Phone: 503.566.6962 Email: spolonsky@co.marion.or.us

Marion County Sheriff's Office Issue Multiple Parking Citations On Herrin Road NE - 01/29/10
On 01-28-10 at approximately 2:45 pm, deputies from the Marion County Sheriff's Office responded to the 4900 Block of Herrin Rd. NE based on repeated citizens complaints and issued 13 parking citations. The location of the parking violations was directly in front of Lamb Elementary School.

While we completely understand the issues which have arisen from the issuance of citations, we also want to remind the public that on-going and lengthy communications have taken place between the Sheriff's Office, public works, the School district, and the community which live right there.

We cannot forget that there are two sides to the story on this issue. The public living in the area has asked us to take enforcement action for almost 9 years. We have attempted to work this out for 9 years and in November of 2009 sent letters to the public warning of impending enforcement action.

Did the Sheriff's office execute the plan in quite the manner that we had hoped? We always assess and do "lessons learned" on our enforcement sweeps. In this case, the concerns do not lie solely on the shoulders of the men and women of the Sheriff's office but also the school district and public works who have not addressed the issue adequately to provide for safe ingress and egress from the school. Will we review this incident? Most assuredly. Will we dismiss the citations written on this date? That is under review but only because we are looking out for the interests of all involved. Our mission at the Sheriff's Office is public safety which encompasses all of our community partners to look at solutions to problems. 9 years in the making is not a solution.

You have our word that we will continue to work with the school district, the citizens who drop off and pick up their children, the people who live in the area, and public works to make the situation safer.

On Tuesday February 2nd, the Marion County Sheriff's Office will meet with school officials and members form Marion County Public Works. The purpose will be to evaluate the parking situation and discuss what options may be available that would benefit the parents, school, and residents in the area.

Bicyclist sustains fatal Injury southeast of Woodburn - 01/29/10
On 01/28/10, at 6:36pm, the Marion County Sheriff's Office, along with Woodburn Medics responded to a report of a vehicle versus bicycle accident on Monitor Road, southeast of Woodburn. Deputies and Medics arrived to find the bicyclist, Robert Weaver, a 52 year old Salem resident injured an unconscious near the intersection of Sunshine Lane NE. Mr. Weaver was given emergency medical aid, but succumbed to his injuries at the scene. The driver of the vehicle that struck Mr. Weaver was identified as Loree Martin, a 53 year old resident of Scotts Mills. Ms. Martin was driving a 1998 Ford F150 pick up truck. The roadway was closed for several hours while the collision was investigated by the Marion County Sheriff's Office Traffic Safety Team. When completed, the results of the investigation will be submitted to the District Attorney's Office for review. No charges have been filed at this time.

Marion County Sheriff's Office PIO Coverage - 01/28/10
The Marion County Sheriff's Office would like to issue the reminder that Public Information Officer, Lt. Sheila Lorance, will be out of the office until February 6, 2010. During this time, the PIO duties are being handled by Commander Kevin Schultz. He can be reached at (503) 932-2000 or Kschultz@co.marion.or.us.

Deputies Respond To Barricaded Subject - 01/23/10
On 01-22-2010 at approximately 5:00 pm, Marion County Sheriff's Deputies responded to a domestic incident at 6751 Riesling Way SE Salem. Michael F. Lowe, 35 years old from Salem barricaded himself alone at the residence and refused to cooperate with deputies.
At approximately 6:00 p.m., Marion County Sheriff's Swat Team members and negotiators were called to the location. Attempts to negotiate with Lowe went on for several hours with negative results. At approximately midnight, Marion County Sheriff's Swat Team deployed pepper gas in attempt to get the suspect to surrender. Lowe surrendered without further incident a few minutes later. Lowe was transported to the Marion County Jail and charged with Domestic Menacing, Domestic Assault, and Kidnapping.

Marion County PIO coverage - 01/21/10
The Marion County Public Information Officer, Sheila Lorance, will be out of the office from January 22, 2010 through February 6, 2010. The PIO duties will be covered by Commander Kevin Schultz who can be reached at (503) 932-2000 or Kschultz@co.marion.or.us.

Good Samaritan finds large amount of cash and turns it in - 01/20/10
On 1-15-10, the Marion County Sheriff's Office made contact with an individual who had reportedly found a large amount of cash on the side of the Center Street NE roadway. The adult male, who has asked not to be identified, indicated he was walking home from the bus stop when he noticed money on the ground near a residence on Center Street. There was no one around, so he picked it up and when he got home determined it was eight $100 bills and some torn up pieces of paper that appeared to be from a bank. He immediately called the Sheriff's Office and asked that a Deputy respond.

Deputy Todd Bay responded and took custody of the money. He then made contact with the family who lived at the residence near where the money was found. They said they hadn't lost any money and didn't know who it belonged to. Deputy Bay entered the cash into evidence as "found property."

On 1-19-10, Marion County Sheriff's Evidence Officer (EO) Debbie Skoog received a voice mail from a female who indicated she had recently lost $800 cash and wanted to know if anyone had turned it in. Debbie was not aware of any cash being turned in prior to that date and thought it would be very unlikely it would be turned in. However, as she processed evidence from the weekend she noticed the "found property" turned in by Deputy Bay and determined it was $800 in $100 bills. She immediately contacted the individual who had found the money to get details of where he found it and commended him for being so honest. She then called Myrna Neff of Packwood, Washington who had left the earlier message. Mrs. Neff indicated she had been in Salem visiting her sister who lives near Center Street and had just gone to the bank. She said she put the cash on top of her car before she left her sisters and forgot about it until she was quite a distance from the residence. Her family looked for the cash that night and the next day but were unable to locate it so she called the Sheriff's Office on the chance someone may have turned it in.

EO Debbie Skoog and Deputy Bay were able to verify the cash belonged to Mrs. Neff and arrangements have been made to return it to her. Contact was made with the individual who turned in the money, and although he didn't want to be identified, when asked about turning in the money he said "it was the only thing to do".

Debbie indicated "this is one of the perks of being an Evidence Officer for the Marion County Sheriff's Office. Once in a while, we get to give good news or give someone joy."

Sheriff Jason Myers said "I am so proud of the individual who found the money and turned it in. I'm just as proud of Mrs. Neff who believed if someone found the money, that person would do the right thing. Even during tough economic times, people still choose good over bad, right over wrong. This is a heartwarming story."

Sheriff's Office responds to report of armed robbery - 01/12/10
On 1-12-10, at 4:10 pm the Marion County Sheriff's Office responded to the report of an armed robbery at The Point After bar on Portland Road NE. With the help of Salem Police and several
K-9 units, deputies attempted to track the suspect who was last seen running West on Blossom Ave NE. However, they were unable to locate him.

Witnesses told deputies and detectives that a male subject entered the bar, with a handgun and ordered everyone to get on the floor. He then fired 2 shots into the ceiling, threatened one of the customers, holding the gun to his head and demanded his wallet. The suspect then fired two more rounds toward the bar and demanded money from the cash register. One of the rounds went in the direction of the bartender and the other into the mirror behind the bar. No one was injured and the suspect left with an undisclosed amount of cash. There were 8 to 10 people in the bar at the time of the robbery and after the suspect left, one of the customers followed him West on Blossom Ave for about 1/4 mile until he lost sight of him.

The suspect is described as a dark complected Hispanic or black male, younger, possibly in his 20's, 6'00, 150 to 170, wearing a light mesh shirt with dark sleeves and a hood. He was wearing a baseball cap, with a mask over his face. If you have any information regarding the suspect or robbery, please call Marion County Detectives at 503 540-8007.

Jefferson man hit and killed by train - 01/12/10
On 1-11-10, at 5:21 pm, the Marion County Sheriff's Office responded to the report of a pedestrian hit and killed by a train at the crossing on Hazel and 5th Street in Jefferson.

The victim was identified as 32 year old Alfredo Savalza of Jefferson. Deputy Matt Hagan interviewed witnesses who said a Union Pacific train was traveling South bound when Mr. Savalza was struck. They indicated the railroad crossing arms were down and the lights flashing when Mr. Savalza walked around them and onto the track in front of the train. The train attempted to stop but was unable to do so.

Semi Truck gets stuck under railroad tressel while following GPS directions - 01/11/10
On 1-11-10, at 9:26 am, the Marion County Sheriff's Office responded to the report of a semi truck stuck underneath the railroad tressel in the 5000 block of Riverside Drive S.

When Deputy Pete Marcellais arrived he made contact with the driver, Palacios Moises-Flores of California who was driving for O&D Transport. He said he was trying to get back to I-5 and was using a GPS system for directions because he didn't know the area. Although he said he knew the truck was 14 feet high he didn't see the traffic signs indicating the bridge was only 11 feet high because he was busy looking at the GPS. He drove the truck and trailer under the bridge causing damage to the top of the cab as well as the empty trailer. There was no damage to the bridge. Riverside Drive was closed in both directions for over two hours and Moises-Flores was issued a citation for failure to obey a traffic control device.

The Marion County Sheriff's Office would like to remind drivers that although a GPS can be a very helpful tool, you should always pay close attention to street signs and road conditions.

Deputies respond to shots fired near Auburn Road - 01/11/10
On 1-10-10, at approximately 10:05 pm Deputy Matt Hagan was on Lancaster Drive NE assisting another deputy when he heard what sounded like shots being fired near Auburn Road. He immediately responded in that direction and calls started coming in from witnesses indicating shots had been fired in the 400 block of Larussa Court NE.

When Deputy Hagan arrived he made contact with the residents of a home where two of the rounds (bullets) had traveled. One round went into the bedroom of their six year old daughter who was sleeping, narrowly missing her. Deputies located the round in the wall inside her bedroom and determined it came through the outside wall approximately 12 inches above her head. They also found a round that had lodged in the fence outside of the home. No one was injured and it does not appear they were the target. As deputies continued their investigation they determined at least 4 to 5 shots had been fired and another residence in the 4600 of Auburn Road had also been hit by one of the rounds. That round lodged in the railing of the front porch.

Witnesses said a female with possibly curly dark hair was seen in the area before the shooting but left before deputies arrived. She may have been wearing a hat and jacket but no other description was available. Deputies are attempting to locate her because she could be a witness to the shooting. If anyone has information regarding this incident they are asked to call the Sheriff's Office at 503 588-5032