Category Public Safety
Derailed train blocks NE Cherry Ave railroad crossing
Northeast Cherry Avenue will be closed for an extended period following a train derailment. Nobody was injured and there's no known hazardous waste spilled, Salem police said.
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Salem man gets 16 years for causing crash that killed McNary student
Christopher J. Atkinson, 34, pleaded guilty Friday, April 17, to manslaughter and other charges stemming from a March 2025 crash that killed 16-year-old Zolayha Johnson and injured three other teens who Atkinson had supplied with alcohol and marijuana.
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Man accused of immigration crime turned over to feds outside Marion County Courthouse
Marion County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested a 49-year-old Woodburn man inside the Marion County Courthouse on Thursday, April 16, based on a warrant signed by a judge accusing him of re-entering the U.S. illegally. He was facing local sex abuse charges.
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Federal judge sides with Oregon Right to Life in abortion insurance coverage case
Keizer-based Oregon Right to Life can't be required to provide abortion insurance coverage for its employees, a federal judge ruled.
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Former federal prison guard sentenced for sexually abusing West Salem child
A Salem man and former guard at the Sheridan federal prison will serve over 12 years in prison after pleading no contest to two counts of first degree sexual abuse of a West Salem child under 12.
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15-year-old faces attempted murder charge for NE Salem shooting
After a March shooting in northeast Salem that left an adult with a gunshot wound to the head, Marion County detectives arrested a teenager who is now facing an attempted murder charge. The case comes as Marion County is seeing a drop in youth facing weapons-related criminal charges.
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Federal judge orders Marion County to release parolee information to ICE
Marion County has provided immigration authorities with personal information about 14 people with previous local criminal convictions following a judge’s order.
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Months of work later, Marion County no longer in public defense crisis
Marion County has reducd the number of people facing criminal charges with no attorney to nearly zero. The change comes after years of work by attorneys to manage climbing caseloads and a state-led boost to quickly resolve prosecutions.
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Railroad officials say trains won’t regularly block Minto-Brown crossing
Reports in recent days of trains blocking the sole entrance and exit to most of Minto-Brown Island Park for extended periods were due to a few unusually long shipments, railroad officials said.
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