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| Attack sends inmate to hospital |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 06/20/2005 |
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A convicted murderer from Washington who is awaiting trial here has been accused of assaulting his cellmate at the Multnomah County (Ore.) Detention Center, a jail spokesman. Thomas Allen "Tommy" Gordon, 22, is serving a 32-year sentence at Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla for a 2001 slaying in Clark County. He was transferred to Multnomah County last month to await trial in the 2001 death of Vernon Ralph Moranville, 38, of Portland. His Multnomah County cellmate, Dennis J. Saban, 43, was attacked Thursday and taken to OHSU Hospital, which declined to provide any information about his injuries or condition. "It is a very serious assault and it could easily rise to attempted murder," said Lt. Bruce McCain, a spokesman for the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office. Gordon had been singled out as a violent risk to officers and other inmates, but McCain said the county jail received no warnings from Washington authorities at the time of the transfer. He was held in a transitional cell, bunking with other inmates, without incident until May 30, when The Oregonian ran a story about Gordon fatally shooting a friend in Vancouver in August 2001, and the circumstances surrounding the death of Moranville. The story quoted Clark County Judge Roger A. Bennett, who sentenced Gordon for killing Dylan Beck, 20, with a single shot to the back of his head. Bennett said he was convinced that Gordon was prone to random, violent outbursts. After reading the article, county officials contacted Washington authorities and subsequently issued a safety alert to staff that Gordon should be treated with extreme caution, McCain said. Jail officials also transferred Gordon to solitary confinement for a 15-day observation period, he said. "This was not based on anything he did in custody" but on the article in The Oregonian, McCain said. "We didn't just let this guy languish." Gordon spent 15 days in solitary confinement without incident. At that point, the jail had an automatic review of the inmate's status. He was then transferred back into "close custody," still with heavy supervision, on June 15. The assault against Saban occurred the following morning. |
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