Son of a Prominent Oregon Businessman Jailed for Going on a Spending Spree While Father Lay in a Vegetative State

The son of the former long-standing president of the Northwest Grocers Association in Oregon and Washington – who is in a vegetative state after he was poisoned – has been jailed for 30 months and ordered to repay his father $372,000 by a Clackamas County Court judge.

Father was Poisoned with Rare and Toxic Thallium

According to court records, Earl Joe Gilliam III (35) went on a spending spree after his father, Earl Joe Gilliam Jr., lay in a vegetative state after he was poisoned with thallium, a rare toxic metal.

During the ensuing months, Gilliam III went on a spending spree, lashing out $59,000 for a Jeep Gladiator and withdrawing $120,000 from a bank in Oak Grove that he spent on gambling, traveling, and liquor.

Judge Rules that Son Does Not Deserve Probation

Circuit Court Judge Jeffrey Jones said while Gilliam III would most likely inherit one day, his quadriplegic father was still alive. He had no right to spend money that could have paid for his father’s medical care. The judge said, for this reason, Gilliam did not deserve probation.

Earlier, Gilliam III pleaded guilty to first-degree criminal mistreatment and aggravated theft.

Takeaway

Joe Gilliam Jr. (62) was at his Arizona vacation home when he was poisoned between May and October 2020. The crime remains unsolved.