By Paul Daquilante • Staff Writer • 

Woman's alleged attacker back in local custody

Jermaine Streeter
Jermaine Streeter

Jermaine Streeter attempted to kill Traci Spurgeon in early May of last year, a Yamhill County Grand Jury indictment alleges. The 30-year-old Streeter has been returned to McMinnville from Washington state and made his initial circuit court appearance by video Tuesday afternoon.

He is charged with one count of attempted murder/constituting domestic violence and two counts of first-degree domestic assault, in addition to one count each of second-degree theft and unlawful use of a weapon.

Attempted murder is an unclassified felony. The assault charges are Class A felonies that fall under Measure 11 mandatory minimum sentencing guidelines. The weapon count is a Class C felony and the theft charge a Class A misdemeanor.

The 35-year-old Spurgeon was pregnant at the time and later gave birth to a boy. The indictment states she and Streeter had been involved in a sexually intimate relationship.

Her ex-husband, Bruce McGuire, told a Portland media outlet that three weeks after the attack Streeter disappeared. "Jermaine Streeter is his (the boy) dad. He just left." McGuire called the boy the "miracle baby."

Streeter "did unlawfully and intentionally cause serious physical injury to Spurgeon by means of a blunt, hard object," according to the indictment. It also states he "did unlawfully and knowingly commit theft of a purse and money, of the total value of $100 or more."

Seven individuals testified before the grand jury, including Spurgeon, and four with a law enforcement background.

Mark Lawrence of McMinnville is acting as Streeter's defense attorney until further notice. The state filed a motion to prohibit Judge Ladd Wiles from presiding over any court proceeding related to the case. It was approved and specific reasons were not publicly stated on the motion document. Judge Cynthia Easterday arraigned Streeter on the indictment.

A no-bail hold was requested by the prosecution and it was approved by Judge John Collins. Streeter will return to court at 1:10 p.m. Wednesday, June 19.

After a warrant was issued for Streeter's arrest, he was taken into custody Monday, May 27  by U.S. Customs and Border Protection personnel at the Canadian border. He was returning to the United States from Canada, according to Capt. Tim Symons of the McMinnville police.

A sheriff's deputy and McMinnville police detective traveled to Bellingham, Washington Monday to pick Streeter up and bring him back to Yamhill County, said Sheriff's Capt. Rich Geist, the jail commander. Bellingham is about 20 miles south of the border. He had been lodged in the Whatcom County Jail awaiting completion of the extradition process.

Streeter is currently on probation out of Clackamas County after being sentenced in late March to 18 months probation on one count of unlawful possession of a firearm, a Class A misdemeanor. He was arrested on the charge in early November of last year.

It was shortly after 3 a.m. on Saturday, May 12, 2018, when McMinnville police responded to a call of a suspicious person. That led officers to discover Spurgeon severely beaten in the southeast part of the city.

She was transported by McMinnville Fire Department ambulance to the Willamette Valley Medical Center and transferred by Life Flight helicopter to Oregon Health & Science University Hospital in Portland for treatment of life-threatening injuries.

In the days following the incident, police requested public assistance with locating video surveillance footage along sections of the highway between McMinnville and Tualatin between 2 and 4 a.m. Saturday, May 12.

Sections of interest included Highway 99W through Lafayette, Dundee, Newberg and Sherwood, Highway 18 between McMinnville and the junction with Highway 99W and the Newberg-Dundee Bypass between the Highway 99W and Highway 219 intersections.

The targeted areas helped make up the path of travel home from work for Spurgeon, police said. However, the request failed to produce any solid leads.

Investigative work never slowed down and a suspect was finally identified, apprehended and charged.

 

 

 

 

 

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