Bledsoe returns to Umatilla County Jail
By Terry Murry on Thursday, February 24th, 2022 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
PENDLETON – Leman Louis Bledsoe, 80, of Milton-Freewater is back in Umatilla County Jail, facing resentencing on a charge of first-degree manslaughter. He was convicted of killing a flagger on Highway 11 while driving under the influence of intoxicants.
The original verdict on the manslaughter charge was 10-2. Since then, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Oregon’s non-unanimous verdicts forcing them to be tried again. Bledsoe was unanimously convicted on several other counts.
The Oregon Court of Appeals has upheld the unanimous convictions, but ordered Bledsoe to be resentenced on the manslaughter charge. With the first-degree manslaughter charge listed against him, it seems likely that he will be retried.
On Aug. 15, 2018, Bledsoe drove through a construction zone on Highway 11. He collided with a vehicle and then struck and killed flagger Tyresa Monaghan, 49, of Kennewick. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison.
