Jesse James West was sentenced to two decades in state prison last week for a crime spree that ended with the 25-year-old firing at Portland police officers and being struck and wounded in the cross fire.
West’s spree began in September 2024 when he stole several cars at gunpoint.
Heavily armed police surrounded his hideout in Northeast Portland last Sept. 13, when he fired off six shots. No one was injured, but an officer returned fire, striking West.
Multnomah County Circuit Judge Angela Lucero imposed a sentence Sept. 19 as West signed a plea deal convicting him of four counts of first-degree attempted murder and other charges.
Central Library trio released from custody weeks after arrest
The three people accused in a high-profile assault case outside the Multnomah County Central Library are out of custody after several weeks.
Multnomah County Circuit Judge Bryan Francesconi granted release to Anthony Nicholas, 18, and 21-year-old Ja’riyah Williams during a Thursday hearing — but banned them from the area around the library and imposed a nightly curfew, among other supervision conditions.
Judge Christopher Ramras set bail at $10,000 for Daviana Anderson, 18, earlier this month. She posted $1,000, the minimum required by law, last week.
Prosecutors claim the trio attacked a library patron who “noticed a disturbance” outside the library on Aug. 25. Nicholas is accused of attacking the man with a box cutter, while Wiliams and Anderson struck him with skateboards.
The case has drawn political scrutiny as business groups have increased their calls for public safety and livability in the downtown core. Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson then called for release of surveillance footage in the case, saying it differed from law enforcement narratives.
Groping of child leads to four-year sentence
Adam M. Caldwell, 43, was sentenced Friday to four years in state prison for groping a child in a Southeast Portland Fred Meyer last year.
Officers responded to the store June 20, 2024, after the child’s father reported the attack by a stranger.
Caldwell fled the scene but was soon identified based on the surveillance footage of his car leaving the parking lot.
He was arrested July 30. Multnomah County Circuit Judge Benjamin Souede presided as Caldwell pleaded guilty to first-degree attempted sexual abuse.
He will be required to register as a sex offender upon release.
