HILLSBORO, Ore.- On August 19, 2020, Nicholas William Berry pleaded guilty to aggravated identity theft and was sentenced to four years in prison by Judge Eric Butterfield. Deputy District Attorney Matt Wise prosecuted the case against Mr. Berry.

On May 26, 2020, an alert neighbor witnessed Mr. Berry steal a package from a home in Beaverton, Oregon. The woman then watched as Mr. Berry struggled to stuff the stolen package into his backpack. As he did so, several items of mail, which were later determined to be stolen by the defendant, fell from the backpack. The neighbor called police to report the suspicious activity.

Mr. Berry was then observed leaving the area in a vehicle. Law enforcement tracked down the vehicle and spoke with the owner and determined Mr. Berry was the one responsible for stealing the package.

Law enforcement then went to Mr. Berry’s home and received his consent to search the premises for additional stolen items. They found more stolen mail belonging to nearly two dozen people. The stolen items included payroll checks, identity cards, stimulus checks and debit cards. Investigators later determined that Mr. Berry was able to cash some of the checks that didn’t belong to him.

“This is one of the most prolific cases of identity theft that I have prosecuted throughout my career,” said Deputy District Attorney Wise. “Our community is struggling enough with the pandemic and people should not have to deal with the theft of vital unemployment or stimulus benefits.”

Washington County District Attorney Kevin Barton recently joined Washington County Sheriff Pat Garrett to issue this warning about mail and package theft. This office encourages community members to view the video to learn how they can protect themselves.

This office also wishes to acknowledge the work of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office on this case.

Mr. Berry will be transferred to the Oregon Department of Corrections to begin serving his sentence.

HILLSBORO, Ore.- On August 11, 2020, Judge Oscar Garcia found Julio Gonzalez guilty of unlawful delivery of heroin, unlawful possession of heroin, unlawful delivery of methamphetamine and unlawful possession of methamphetamine in a bench trial. Judge Garcia then sentenced the defendant to 22 months in prison. Deputy District Attorney Andrew Freeman prosecuted the case against Mr. Gonzalez.

The Westside Interagency Narcotics Team (WIN) identified Mr. Gonzalez as drug dealer. After securing the proper search warrants, officers on the WIN team surveilled the defendant for more than a week. On June 12, 2020, the team observed Mr. Gonzalez as he drove north on Interstate 5 and conducted a traffic stop in Tualatin, Oregon. Officers found one ounce of heroin, more than half an ounce of methamphetamine, bags used to package the drugs and a scale. Officers also found additional empty packaging materials indicating the defendant had much larger quantities of drugs with him prior to the traffic stop.

The Washington County District Attorney’s Office wishes to acknowledge the work of the WIN team on this case.

Mr. Gonzalez will be transferred to the Oregon Department of Corrections to begin serving his sentence. He also faces extradition to California for similar charges dating back to 2014.

HILLSBORO, Ore.- On August 6, 2020, a Washington County jury found Alan Daniel Scatamacchia guilty of second-degree assault, two counts of felony fourth-degree assault, unlawful use of a weapon, menacing, interference with making a report and second-degree theft. On August 10, 2020, Judge Eric Butterfield sentenced the defendant to 138 months in prison for these crimes. The case was prosecuted by Senior Deputy District Attorney Gina Skinner.

The defendant was staying as a guest at the victim’s apartment at the time of the attack. On April 15, 2020, the defendant became controlling and aggressive towards the victim. As a result, the victim called 911 asking police to remove the defendant from her apartment. While on the phone with 911, the defendant threatened the victim with a knife and said he was going to kill her. The defendant dropped the knife and the victim mistakenly believed that he had left the apartment. The defendant followed the victim into her bedroom and physically assaulted her with his fists multiple times. Audio of the attack was captured during the 911 call. After the attack, the defendant took the victim’s phone without her permission and left the apartment.  

The victim was aided by a neighbor who called 911. The victim was taken to the hospital where she was treated for severe facial injuries.

A Tigard Police officer spotted the defendant parked in his vehicle in a nearby neighborhood about 30 minutes later. Evidence of the assault was visible on the defendant’s hands and shoes. When confronted, Mr. Scatamacchia initially denied the assault. When pressed further, the defendant threatened to assault the officer. He was arrested at the scene.

The Washington County District Attorney’s Office wishes to acknowledge the bravery shown by the victim in this case. This office also thanks the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, Tigard Police Department, and Metro West for their work.

In addition to the convictions previously listed, Mr. Scatamacchia also pleaded guilty to charges of attempted extortion and violation of a Court Stalking Protective Order. Investigators found that the defendant sent a threatening letter to a previous victim who currently has a lifetime Court Stalking Protective Order against Mr. Scatamacchia while he was in the Washington County Jail awaiting trial on the assault charges. Judge Butterfield sentenced Mr. Scatamacchia to 32 months in prison for these crimes. Of those 32 additional months, 12 will run consecutive with the original 138-month sentence for a total of 150 months in prison.

Mr. Scatamacchia will be transferred to the Oregon Department of Corrections to begin serving his sentence.

HILLSBORO, Ore.- On July 31, 2020, a Washington County jury found Stephen Matthew Lister guilty of two counts of first-degree assault, two counts of unlawful use of a weapon and two counts of failure to perform the duties of a driver to injured persons. On August 6, 2020, Judge Ted Sims sentenced the defendant to 19 years in prison and ordered him to pay a $200,000 compensatory fine to the female victim in this case. Chief Deputy District Attorney Bracken McKey prosecuted the case against Mr. Lister.

On August 22, 2019, law enforcement received reports of a crash involving a vehicle and a motorcycle near SW 175th Avenue and SW Blanton Street in Aloha, Oregon. Callers reported the vehicle struck the motorcycle and that the driver of that vehicle then drove off without checking on the two crash victims, a man and a woman.

The Washington County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene. Both victims were severely injured as a result of the crash. The female victim was rushed to the hospital and treated for a spinal injury. The male victim was alert at the scene and told officers that a man by the name of Matt Lister, who was later confirmed to be Stephen Matthew Lister, intentionally struck his motorcycle. The victim told deputies that he knew the defendant and was involved in a verbal argument with him shortly before the crash.

Responding officers quickly identified the defendant as a person of interest and began searching for him and the vehicle involved in the crash. The following day, Washington County Sheriff’s Deputies Thomas Bowler and Gene Mitchell spotted a man matching Mr. Lister’s description at a home in Aloha, Oregon as they were attempting to serve a search warrant on an unrelated case. They then spoke with the lead detective who secured the proper warrants needed to apprehend Mr. Lister. Officers approached the home and ordered Mr. Lister to come outside. After a brief standoff, the defendant was arrested.

The Washington County District Attorney’s Office acknowledges the work of all law enforcement on this case including Detective Mark Povolny, Deputy Bowler and Deputy Mitchell.

HILLSBORO, Ore.- The Washington County District Attorney’s Office is leading a program aimed at increasing the efficiency of the fitness to proceed process. The program will reduce the pre-trial jail time for defendants with mental health disorders.  Along with our partners including the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, Washington County Circuit Court, Washington County defense bar, Washington County Behavioral Health Department, NW Forensic Institute, and Lithia Forensics & Consulting, we have launched the Washington County Rapid Fitness to Proceed Program.

Under Oregon law, when the court has reason to doubt a defendant’s fitness to proceed by reason of incapacity due to a qualifying mental disorder, the court may order an examination to determine whether the defendant is unable to understand the nature of the proceedings, assist and cooperate with their attorney, or participate in the defense.  Commonly referred to as an “Aid and Assist,” “Fitness to Proceed” or competency evaluation, this process can take months to complete, which creates costly delays and inefficiencies.  Under the Rapid Fitness to Proceed Program, the timeline has been reduced from months to weeks.  This increased efficiency benefits all participants as defendants arrested for lower-level crimes will spend less time in jail pre-trial, thereby freeing up limited jail space for more dangerous offenders. It also increases the efficiency of the courts and provides cost savings for the entire public safety system in Washington County.

“I am excited about the prospect of increasing the efficiency of our Fitness to Proceed process,” said District Attorney Kevin Barton.  “This program is a great example of our Washington County public safety system partners working together to develop creative solutions that benefit the entire system.”

The Rapid Fitness to Proceed Program accomplishes this increased efficiency by establishing partnerships with two private practices that specialize in forensic competency to stand trial evaluations, NW Forensic Institute and Lithia Forensics and Consulting. These certified forensic evaluators are trusted by the defense and the state.  In fact, in some situations, these private evaluators also work on contract for the Oregon State Hospital to provide competency evaluations. Using this public-private partnership, expedited evaluations are typically produced within 12 days from the date the referral is accepted.  

“Prior to the Rapid program many defendants, even those appropriate for community treatment, sat in jail and their criminal cases were put on hold for about 60 days while the parties waited for a competency evaluation. During that time, their cases weren’t moving forward, and the defendants weren’t receiving mental health services necessary to restore their competency. The Rapid program speeds that timeline up significantly which resolves cases faster, gets defendants into appropriate treatment faster, and saves jail beds for more dangerous offenders.”

The program also establishes a team of representatives from each of the partner organizations to evaluate and prioritize Rapid evaluations for defendants who would be good candidates for community restoration. This team also works with the presiding judge and her staff to facilitate fast turnarounds on court orders and hearings.

To learn more about this program and to access a referral form needed to initiate an evaluation, visit our website.