Man charged with disorderly conduct

By Terry Murry on Friday, September 30th, 2022 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories

HERMISTON – Dale Robert Mininger, 60, of Hermiston was charged with disorderly conduct Wednesday after he allegedly caused a panic at Walmart in Hermiston. Police Chief Jason Edmiston said Mininger was yelling at people and causing a disturbance and was open carrying a handgun on his waist.

Openly carrying a firearm is legal in Oregon. Edmiston said that Mininger’s behavior was not legal.

“It’s unfortunate that the overwhelming majority of people that own weapons act responsibly and just a few people that do things such as this really do give a black eye to everyone that is law abiding,” he said.

Edmiston said that this was Mininger’s first arrest by the Hermiston Police Department, but there are indications of possible future trouble.

“There have been several recent incidents of calls for service involving him,” he said. “There appears to be a decline with his cognitive thought process.”