Author

Lucille McNamara

Lucille McNamara is a Daily Tidings reporter with 27 years of journalism experience, covering Oregon public safety, crime and courts, plus statewide policy and community impact stories including housing, education, health, and immigration. She previously worked at The Star.
Contact: [email protected]

Public Safety

Portland Student Expected to Survive After Inhaling Chemical Gases at Benson High School

Lucille McNamara Sep 10, 2026

PORTLAND, Ore. — A 15-year-old Portland student at Benson Polytechnic High School inhaled gases produced by a mixture of chemicals, but did not drink the mixture, as originally reported by investigators. He was admitted to a hospital in…

Crime & Courts

Oregon Woman, 80, Accused of Holding Loaded Gun Under Son’s Chin

Lucille McNamara Sep 9, 2026

EUGENE, Ore. — An 80-year-old woman from Eugene, who voluntarily contacted 911 to inform them that she had pointed a firearm at her son, has been arrested and charged. Yvonne Ballew of Ivy Glen Drive told dispatch that she had tried to…

Crime & Courts

Former Oregon AT&T Employee Gets Prison After SIM Swaps Drain Nearly $600,000 From Customers

Lucille McNamara Sep 9, 2026

A former employee of an AT&T store in Portland was yesterday sentenced to 16 months in federal prison for selling access to AT&T’s network to criminals who used customer PII to carry out SIM swaps. Forty-four-year-old Kenneth…

Crime & Courts

K-9 Zoro Leads Deputies to Man Hiding in Field After Myrtle Creek Home Break-In

Lucille McNamara Sep 7, 2026

DOUGLAS COUNTY, Ore. — Zoro, a member of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office K-9 Unit, helped arrest a suspected burglar after tracking him in a field in Myrtle Creek late Saturday night. A report of a burglary in progress at a private…

Crime & Courts

Woman Shot Dead in Tigard Apartment Parking Lot as Murder Suspect Arrested Nearby

Lucille McNamara Sep 6, 2026

TIGARD, Ore. — A woman died from a gunshot wound in the car park of a Tigard apartment complex shortly before 8 p.m. on Friday, September 4. Forty-two-year-old Christopher Fisher has been arrested and booked into the Washington County…

Crime & Courts

Oregon Man Pleads No Contest After Girlfriend Found Dead in Backseat of Her Car

Lucille McNamara Sep 6, 2026

PORTLAND, Ore. — Thirty-five-year-old Jon Pharris Ray French of Portland will be sentenced on September 14 for the death of his girlfriend by blunt force trauma. Her Body Was Found Under a Blanket on the Backseat of Her Car…

Crime & Courts

Oregon Man Gets Life in Prison for Fatally Stabbing 9-Year-Old Over Pokémon Game

Lucille McNamara Sep 4, 2026

COOS COUNTY, Ore. — A 36-year-old Coos Bay man, who stabbed a nine-year-old with a spear when he became angry over a game of Pokemon, has been sentenced to life in prison. Tidings Insight Oregon requires life imprisonment for second…

Crime & Courts

Oregon Mother Found Guilty of Kidnapping Daughter and Taking Her to Mexico Without Father’s Consent

Lucille McNamara Sep 2, 2026

A 24-year-old Oregon mother has been sentenced to time served after being found guilty in May of kidnapping her daughter and fleeing to Mexico. Tidings Insight Federal law makes it a crime to take a child outside the United States…

Crime & Courts

Medford Police Arrest Walgreens Armed Robbery Suspects After Spike Strips End I-5 Chase

Lucille McNamara Sep 2, 2026

MEDFORD, Ore. — After a high-speed car chase on Interstate 5, when spike strips finally brought their vehicle to a stop, suspected armed robbers at a pharmacy chain store were arrested by Medford Police officers. The couple, whose…

Crime & Courts

Grants Pass Police Arrest Two Men After Political Demonstration Turns Physical

Lucille McNamara Sep 1, 2026

GRANTS PASS, Ore. — A physical altercation between two Grants Pass residents at a weekly pop-up demonstration by Josephine County Democrats ended with their arrest a few days later. The Grants Pass Police Department reported that David…

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