A Salem man arrested during a police search was charged on Wednesday with trying to sell methamphetamine near South Salem High School.
The charges come a day after Salem police searched the man’s home, which neighbors said is affiliated with the Gypsy Joker Motorcycle Club.
Prosecutors charged Wilson E. Voorhis, 48, in Marion County Circuit Court with attempting to sell methamphetamine near a school, possessing body armor as a felon, possessing methamphetamine, first-degree theft and tampering with physical evidence, according to court records.
Possession of small amounts of drugs has been a civil violation similar to a traffic ticket since Oregon voters passed Measure 110 in 2020. But Voorhis is being charged with felony meth possession because prosecutors accused him in court documents of committing a “commercial drug offense.”
The theft charge alleges that Voorhis stole tools and sold them.
At around 5 a.m. on Tuesday, officers from the Salem Police Department searched a house in the 700 block of Southeast Rural Avenue, across the street from a student parking lot at South Salem High School.
Investigators seized three ballistic vests, a taser, tools and street signs, all of which were stolen, according to police. They also found methamphetamine, fentanyl, heroin and tools from the home, according to Salem police spokeswoman Angela Hedrick.
Marion County prosecutors said at his arraignment on Wednesday that police also found a butterfly knife at the home as well as blue “M30” pills stuffed down a bathtub drain. Such pills are frequently sold as counterfeit oxycodone pills laced with fentanyl, but prosecutors didn’t say if the pills found in the home were mixed with the deadly opiate.
Voorhis was booked into Marion County Jail, where he was being held without bail as of Wednesday.
More court proceedings in the case are scheduled for March 20.
Voorhis has criminal convictions in Marion County dating back to 2003 including second-degree burglary, unauthorized use of a vehicle and fleeing police.
He pleaded guilty in June 2023 to unlawful use of a weapon, coercion, possessing a firearm as a felon and attempting to sell methamphetamine near a school.
Voorhis was sentenced in that case to 25 days in prison and three years of probation. He agreed at the time to serve eight years in prison if he violated the conditions of his probation, which included “zero tolerance for new crimes,” according to records in Marion County Circuit Court.
Court records show he lives at the house where he was arrested.
Hedrick said she had no information linking Voorhis to the Gypsy Jokers Motorcycle Club and prosecutors made no mention of the group at the Wednesday hearing.
But neighbors said police had told them the home was a clubhouse for the Gypsy Jokers, which federal prosecutors have described as a violent outlaw motorcycle gang.
CORRECTION: Voorhis is 43 years old. His age as provided by Salem police earlier was incorrect.
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Police raid home near South Salem High School with ties to motorcycle gang
Contact reporter Ardeshir Tabrizian: [email protected] or 503-929-3053.
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Ardeshir Tabrizian has covered criminal justice and housing for Salem Reporter since September 2021. As an Oregon native, his award-winning watchdog journalism has traversed the state. He has done reporting for The Oregonian, Eugene Weekly and Malheur Enterprise.
