sanctuary city Portland probably has at least one (illegal immigrant and/or hispanic) incident (dwi, hit and run, murder, etc.) per night, 7/365..I don't follow anymore, but one night had 2 in a row: going wrong way drunk plows into 2 women and the other drunk slams into another innocent couple..

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http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2010/08/driver_who_rolled_truck_on_i-4.html

Driver who rolled truck on I-405 -- killing homeless man -- gets 7 1/2 years; victim remembered
Published: Tuesday, August 31, 2010, 10:33 PM Updated: Wednesday, September 01, 2010, 8:00 AM
Michael Russell, The Oregonian
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View full sizeCourtesy of the Downtown ChapelBefore he died, Albert "Al" Rowland would play his acoustic guitar outside first Thursday events at the Downtown Chapel Roman Catholic Church. He did a mean cover of Neil Young's "Heart of Gold," church worker Kelly DiCristina said.

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Share A drunken driver who flipped a pickup on Interstate 405 and killed a homeless man sleeping under the Burnside Street overpass was sentenced Tuesday to 7 1/2 years in prison.

Alvaro Lugos-Ponce, 23, had a blood alcohol level of .18 percent, more than twice the legal limit, when the truck rolled over Albert Lloyd Rowland, 53, about 11 p.m. May 13. Rowland died at the scene.

Members of the Downtown Chapel Roman Catholic Parish, which Rowland attended, plan to honor him Thursday with stories, art and music.

Kelly DiCristina said she met Rowland last year during one of her first days working at the chapel. She said he would often grab a cup of coffee, sit down and talk with her.

"His presense was really, really meaningful to me," DiCristina said. "When I would go home and talk to my husband, it was stories about Al that I would tell."

Rowland, who suffered from mental illness, would bring his acoustic guitar to the chapel's First Thursday art events and often do a pitch-perfect cover of Neil Young's "Heart of Gold," DiCristina said.


Remembering Albert "Al" Rowland
Those who knew Rowland are invited to a First Thursday art exhibit from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Downtown Chapel Roman Catholic Parish, 601 W. Burnside St."He had guitar skills like you wouldn't believe, and his voice was absolutely amazing," DiCristina said.

Then, one day, Rowland stopped showing up.

DiCristina thought that Rowland was the homeless man who died near I-405 that she had read about in the newspaper, but she wasn't sure. She went to stores that Rowland had frequented, including the Everyday Music, 1313 W. Burnside St., and showed clerks a photo of Rowland. No one had seen him.

Only this week did DiCristina learn for sure that the man with the encyclopedic music knowledge who often wore too much cologne was the same man who died under the overpass that night.

Lt. Kelli Sheffer, a Portland Police Bureau spokeswoman, said she thinks the bureau initially withheld Rowland's name because of some delay in notifying Rowland's family. But the Multnomah County Medical Examiner's Office reported they notified Rowland's sister on May 14, the day after the crash.



Courtesy of Multnomah CountyAlvaro Lugos-Ponce
Months after his death, DiCristina and other members of the church want to honor Rowland from 5 to 7:30 p.m. this Thursday at an art event at the chapel, 601 W. Burnside St.

Authorities said Lugos-Ponce had been drinking beer at a friend's home May 13 before he got in his truck and sped onto I-405. He was going nearly 100 mph when the truck flipped.

One of Lugos-Ponce's three passengers, a woman who was seven months pregnant, was ejected from the pickup. Sandy Yamilet Navarrette, who has since given birth, told the court she didn't want him sent to prison. All the passengers appear to have recovered.

Rowland's niece was present for Lugos-Ponce's sentencing in Multnomah County Circuit Court, but she did not speak.

Lugos-Ponce declined to make a statement Tuesday. He had pleaded guilty to drunken driving, second-degree manslaughter and third-degree assault.

Immigration officials have flagged his case for a hearing once he gets out of prison.



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SPD promises investigation..this looks like a 'bad shoot': 52 y.o. (going on 80) deaf-in-one-ear homeless indian gets 3 rapid fire "DROP THE KNIFE" from 27yo cop, flustered indian probably has bad english command and probably walked toward officer = shot dead.

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/426053_williams021.html

Family: Man shot by police was deaf in left ear
By CASEY MCNERTHNEY
SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF


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http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/dailyweekly/2010/09/john_williams_native_american.php

John Williams, Native American Shot While Holding Knife, Created Exquisite Totem Poles that Sold for Hundreds of Dollars
By Nina Shapiro, Wed., Sep. 1 2010

Take a good look at this miniature totem pole. (Click to zoom in.) Notice the depth of the relief, the vivid colors and the intricate detail on the wings and faces. About two feet high, it's the kind of exceptional work that could sell for as much as $300 at downtown's Ye Olde Curiosity Shop, which liked the totem pole so much that the store decided to keep it instead. And it was done by John T. Williams, the Native American shot Monday by a police officer.

Ye Olde Curiousity Shop had been buying Williams' work for years, owner Andy James tells SW this morning. In fact, James said that the store has bought from the Williams' family---famous carvers family from the Nitinaht tribe in British Columbia--for more than 100 years. James says he knew Williams' father, Ray, a fine carver, now deceased. James also stocks a selection of work from Williams' brother Rick.

Of all the Native American sculptors the store has dealt with, Williams "was one of the best," adds the store's general manager Alex Castas. "Sadly, his work deteriorated" in recent years as the artist developed a drinking problem, Castas says.


​Rick Williams (pictured at left) confirms that his brother fell on hard times. Dressed all in black, Rick was at Chief Seattle Club this morning trying to arrange a drumming service at Victor Steinbrueck Park for his slain brother. Williams was a member of the club, which provides meals and other services to needy Native Americans.

Rick says his brother lived at 1811 Eastlake, the so-called "wet house" for chronic inebriates run by the Downtown Emergency Service Center. Previously, after another brother died and Williams started hearing voices, he spent some time at Western State Hospital, according to Rick. Williams also had some run-ins with the law, including a conviction for indecent exposure, according to The Seattle Times.

But Rick is angry about the attention that has been paid to his brother's troubled side, and wants people to know that his brother was a talented, "seventh-generation" sculptor.

Rick also offered some possible explanations for why his brother, who was holding a knife and block of wood when spotted by an officer, might not have dropped the knife when ordered to do so. His brother was wearing headphones while he was sculpting, Rick says. What's more, Williams is deaf in one ear.

On top of all that, Rick says his brother was so accustomed to carving that he would whittle away while talking. "My dad could walk down the street and carve," Rick adds, demonstrating while pretending to carve with quick moving hands. He also takes a knife and half-finished miniature totem pole out of his backpack and shows his real carving technique.

Williams was far from the only down-on-his-luck artist who used the Chief Seattle Club. Executive director Jenine Grey says many members carve, paint or create jewelry. Often they are self-taught or have been schooled by other family members.


​In May, the club began participating in First Thursday art walks. At first, Grey says, it was hard to convince members to display their work. Many could get faster returns by selling their art on the street. But in doing so, they were getting less money than what their art was worth, Grey says. Members are coming around to the idea that they can get "gallery prices" by displaying at the club instead. Typically, the gallery takes in between $400 and $500 on art walks nights, according to Grey.

At tomorrow's art walk, the club will feature a painter named Zona Shroyer (a guest artist rather than a member) in a room known as a "gathering circle" that serves as an ad hoc gallery. More work by actual members can be seen in the center's lobby, including a stunning turquoise jewelry selling for $50 (pictured above).