La Grande convict faces additional sexual abuse charges while in custody
By Joe Hathaway on Thursday, March 21st, 2024 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
UNION COUNTY — A La Grande man lodged in jail for a slew of charges is now facing even more serious ones.
27-year-old Damon Troy Smaage Jr. was indicted on three counts of first-degree Sexual Abuse and Luring a Minor while in custody.
The new charges stem from an alleged incident that occurred in March of 2022. An indictment from the Union County District Attorney’s Office shows Smaage allegedly “did unlawfully and knowingly, by means of forcible compulsion, subject (the victim) to sexual contact.”
According to Oregon law, “forcible compulsion” means physical force or a threat, expressed or implied, of death or physical injury to or kidnapping of any person.
The three Sex Abuse charges are Class B Felonies, with each one punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. Sexual Abuse is also a Measure 11 crime, with a mandatory minimum sentence of six years.
Luring a Minor is a Class C Felony, which is punishable up to 5 years in prison and fines that can reach up to $125,000.
Smaage was already booked into the county jail for an incident in February.
He was arrested on February 4 after an argument between he and his father, Damon Smaage Sr., at the Rocks Trailer Court in La Grande. Smaage Sr. called police to report his son had his gun and would not give it back.
According to a probable cause affidavit, when police responded and attempted to arrest Smaage Jr, he allegedly pointed a handgun at two La Grande Police Officer’s while attempting to escape. Police located a handgun while tracking him down.
The next day, February 5, La Grande Police noticed white Ford pickup truck driving west on Adams Avenue without visible license plates. An officer pulled the pickup over and when talking with the driver, saw that Smaage Jr. was in the passenger seat.
According to a police report, police conducted a “high risk stop” given the possibility of Smaage Jr. having a gun and that he was known to point firearms at police, according to the police report.
Officers reported that Smaage Jr. was screaming at police and flipping them off. A short standoff ensued, before officers managed to tase Smaage Jr. and though he resisted arrest, officers were eventually able to take him into custody.
For the February incident, he was charged with first-degree escape, being a felon in possession of a weapon, two counts of unlawful use of a weapon, two counts of menacing, two counts of pointing a firearm at another and resisting arrest.
Smaage Jr. has a long criminal history. He was sentenced to four years in prison in 2018 on drug charges, assault and criminal mischief
He remains lodged in the Union County Jail on the Sexual Abuse charges and prior charges from February. His bail is set at $60,000.
