Maintenance vehicle stolen from Weston-McEwen HS
By Griffin Beach on Friday, May 2nd, 2025 in Columbia Basin News Columbia Basin Top Stories
ATHENA – A report of a stolen maintenance vehicle from Weston-McEwen High School (WMHS) in Athena led to an arrest in Milton-Freewater on Thursday.
Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office (UCSO) received a report in their dispatch center at approximately 7:00 a.m. from WMHS that one of their maintenance vehicles, a white 2023 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 with the Tigerscot emblem on it, had been stolen within the last ten minutes. They also reported that Jason Edwin Beers had been seen in the area at the time of the theft.
While enroute a UCSO deputy requested an “attempt to locate” to local law enforcement. Shortly after the Milton-Freewater Police Department advised that they had located the vehicle, in the area of 115 North Main Street and Northeast 2nd Street in Milton-Freewater, Beers was also located in the area. Beers was arrested and transported to Umatilla County Jail on charges of felony unauthorized use of a vehicle, felony first degree theft and felony possession of a stolen vehicle.
“A big thank you to our partners at Milton-Freewater PD for their assist. Teamwork is great!” said UCSO Captain Sterrin Ward.
At his arraignment Friday, Beers appeared in court from the Umatilla County Jail and when asked by Judge Carey Meerdink if he would like to be appointed an attorney Beers stated no and that he would like to plead guilty. Meerdink said the court was not in a position at that time to accept a guilty plea and appointed Beers an attorney.
Bail was set at $15,000 and Beers was ordered to have no contact with the Athena-Weston School District or any of its properties.
Beers has an extensive record of misdemeanor and felony cases in Umatilla County dating back to 1997.
