A serial dog fighter is suspected of being back in business but budget cuts in Columbia County may keep him from facing justice.
When deputies got a recent 9-1-1 call about pit bulls killing a calf, a deputy investigated and found evidence of dog fighting; however, when he could not find the suspect at home, the case, like many other long-term investigations got put on hold.
While county commissioners have fined Eduardo Rebaya, who they said is back in the dog-fighting business, he has not been arrested.
Police said they couldn’t devote the resources to the investigation because they have half as many deputies as they once did.
“When we lost funding, we lost virtually every person who could go sit on a house and wait for the suspect to return,” said Columbia County Sheriff Jeff Dickerson.
Rebaya was convicted of dog fighting in California and in 2004 police raided his Vancouver home. They found dog-fighting magazines, a breaking stick used to separate dogs, and a treadmill used to train them.
Police said a deputy found the same kind of equipment on Rebaya’s Scappoose property. They also said they found drugs.
Rebaya is now on parole.
But if county commissioners expect deputies to stake out his home and wait for him to come back, they’d be wrong, said Dickerson.
“Any long-term, ongoing investigation, we are hurting,” he said. “We don’t have the capability to conduct these long-term investigations.”
Dickerson said the Rebaya case is one example of what they face everyday: a shortage of deputies to investigate crimes.
Commissioner Tony Hyde said Rebaya should be in jail. He acknowledges the Sheriff Department’s cuts but said commissioners didn’t have a choice.
“I suppose we could make sure we didn’t pave any roads or don’t provide other social services everyone expects,” he said.
In Oregon it is a felony to possess a dog with the intent to fight. It is not necessary to catch them in the act of dog fighting, just prove that there was the intent to fight.
Dickerson said he only has enough deputies to respond to emergencies and follow-up on immediate investigations. The sheriff said since the county is 650 miles wide, it can take an hour for a deputy to respond to any situation.
———————————————————————————————-
I call bull s on this. Once again its an issue of the cops enforcing the laws that profit them most upfront. I bet if they were looking for someone with a load of cash and guns or heroin they would stake that place out until they found him or his whereabouts.
So what then do all criminals move to Oregon so they wont get prosecuted? I really wanted to visit but now that I hear how soft on real crime you are I believe I go elsewhere. I think it would be proper if my readers do the same.
That bs about not having money to pave roads is ridiculous. If there is not enough money for that the reason is real estate taxes have dropped significantly. Has nothing to do money budgeted for enforcing felony crimes of dogfighting. They want to save money they can stop enforcing bogus marijuana possession or cultivation laws. They could even legalize medical cultivation and create a surplus to wipeout the violent crimes against women and children and pets everyday.
We have so many solutions looking us in the face, we have no excuse for failure. Can someone in Oregon pick this up and push to get this guy thrown in jail? Since he is a repeater send him away for 10 years. Make an example of him.
Bookmark & Share
Mansbestfriends's Blog 