Oregon City Courthouse Vandalized Saturday

(OREGON CITY) - It is a story that we have heard in Oregon before; a suspect breaks forcibly enters a courthouse on a Saturday, causes extensive vandalism, and then is arrested. Fortunately for Oregon City, an arrest at their courthouse over the weekend did not result in the amount of damage and destruction that Marion County saw two years ago.

Damaged 'Lady Justice' in the
Clackamas County Court House

Investigators say a 17-year old youth was observed forcing his way into the Clackamas County Courthouse Saturday at 2:50 PM, after it was closed for business. The courthouse is located at 807 S Main Street, in Oregon City.

Detective Jim Strovink, the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office Public Information Officer, says county deputies and Oregon City Police went straight to the scene, establishing a perimeter to contain of the burglary subject, who witnesses said had successfully gained access into the Courthouse.

"Responding law enforcement personnel at the scene were initially concerned for the welfare of authorized Courthouse employees - that frequently come to work on the weekend – that may be inside the building and potentially at risk of being held hostage by an armed intruder."

Strovink says a K8 unit responded to the scene and accompanied several uniformed officers that detected, "this mobile intruder roaming about inside this four level, 60,000 square foot Courthouse."

He says the officers entered the Courthouse and eventually confronted this male subject on the second floor. Strovink says he was uncooperative, and that the 17-year old burglary suspect failed to comply with law enforcement demands.

Describing the youth as an, "uncooperative subject," Strovink says he was tazered, incapacitated and taken into custody.

"A medical team was on standby and attended to the routine removal of the metallic tazer probes deployed to aid in this arrest," Strovink added.

"Based on the extraordinary irrational behavior exhibited by this subject in custody, he was transported to a local Portland Hospital and admitted for observation. It is unknown if this behavior is a result of a mental issue or drug induced circumstance."

He says this juvenile has an established criminal history documented as being a Minor in Possession (alcohol) and Possession of a controlled substance.

Ultimately, this 17 year-old, Oregon City resident is expected to be charged with Burglary in the second degree and Criminal Mischief in the first degree. Based on the age and degree of these suspected crimes, this juvenile will be appearing in the Clackamas County Juvenile Court.

Strovink says Clackamas County Sheriff's Office and Courthouse officials were enormously disappointed to discover extensive damage, "Attributed to this vandalizing burglar - to the interior of the Courthouse; which recently received major renovations and celebrated with a dedication ceremony this past July 30th."

Marion County Courthouse
after the November, 2005 incident

Lt. Debbie Brent retains an office in the Courthouse, she is the commander of the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office Civil Division. She was on hand to assess the damage and supervise the ongoing investigation.

"The preliminary damage is conservatively estimated to be between $15,000 and $20,000 dollars total."

Strovink says the suspect first forced entry to the Courthouse, and forcibly entered into at least 5 separate court rooms where damage was discovered performed to computers, court room doors, walls and desks.

"The most disturbing damage was inflicted on the highly cherished and historical "Lady Justice"; which is encased in glass and prominently displayed on the 1st floor of the Court House."

Investigators reveal the "Lady Justice" glass display case was smashed, with damaged portions of this wooden work-of-art figure broken and scattered onto the marble court house flooring. They said that fortunately, it appears any damage inflicted on the 9' Lady Justice is repairable.

The Clackamas County Courthouse will be open for business as usual on Monday morning. County employees are working this weekend to insure the County Courthouse is operational for the Monday morning course of business.

In comparison, the Marion County Courthouse incident on November 12th 2005, cost approximately $12 million to repair. That scene involved fires being set, the building's doors being crashed through with a pick-up, and the suspect going down in a hail of bullets. Clackamas County officials are rightfully unhappy about this weekend's incident, but the November, 2005 incident in Salem l

Gifted to the courthouse in the late 1800's by County Judge "Colonel" William L. White, Lady Justice stands nine feet tall, is carved from redwood and was originally painted white. An activist for the construction of the 1884 courthouse, Judge White commissioned her from an Italian carver for the sum of $1,300. When that amount is adjusted for inflation, the cost would have been $28,132.23 in 2006. Referred to as "Colonel White's Mary Ann" by women friends of the Judge, Lady Justice ruled over Oregon City from the gable on the Main Street side until the demolition when she was taken to the county sheds for storage during construction of the current courthouse.

Lady Justice spent many years lying patiently in storage until the late 1980's when she was acquired by the Clackamas County Historical Society - who hired local restorer Fred K. Hahn to bring her back to life.

Blindfolded, Lady Justice is the symbol that justice is meted out objectively, without fear or favor. Her double-edged sword in her right hand symbolizes the power to simultaneously separate justice and reason. The scales in her left symbolize the pros and cons of each case. Both had to be replicated as the original sword appears to have disappeared while in storage, and the scales blew away in the wind long before she was removed from the roof.