Murderer’s Pass Privileges Worry Bend Neighbors

A Portland-area man found guilty but insane in the murder of his father and attacks on his nephew and niece more than a decade ago has been granted state permission to get two limited passes a week to leave a Bend secure residential treatment facility for 45 minutes at a time.

Hearing the news Friday, some neighbors said they were worried, while others said everyone deserves second chances.

The Oregonian reported that the state Psychiatric Review Board agreed to the passes for Christopher Persyn, 40, a former Beavercreek man who was moved just over a year ago from the Oregon State Hospital in Salem to the Deschutes Recovery Center, located near the Deschutes County Jail on Poe Sholes Drive in Bend.

Persyn pleaded guilty but for insanity in 1998 after killing his father, stabbing his teen nephew and trying to strangle his 10-year-old niece. When sheriff’s deputies arrived at the crime scene, they pepper-sprayed Persyn and shot him three times in the legs, blowing off his lower left leg.

Many neighbors who live in the area said Friday the idea of an insane, convicted killer roaming around their streets is a cause for serious concern.

“Finding out that there is this person, that is two minutes away, is not okay,” said Jessica Garcia, a mother of two. “It’s really not. It’s very uncomfortable.”

Garcia said she is seriously considering moving her family away from the area after hearing the news.

“I want to protect my family,” said Garcia. “I have a 7-month-old old and a 16-year-old. How easy would it be for my 16-year-old to be out here, someone to walk up to him — and I no longer have a 16-year-old?”

The passes will allow Persyn to leave the facility for 45 minutes at a time, paired with another resident who has earned the same privileges, the Portland newspaper reported. Both will be required to tell staff member in advance where they intend to go, and then wear GPS devices so they can be tracked and their routes can be verified.

Officials with the treatment facility said Friday that while everyone is fearful of the unknown, it’s their job to try and integrate the residents back into society.

“I would say that everybody with a mental illness has the capacity to recover, and has the capacity to live a meaningful productive life in the community of their choice,” Telecare Administrator Jay Harris said. “Our mission is to help folks realize that dream.”

Harris said the residents who live in the facility have the right to go wherever they want, as long as they don’t break the law.

“Those decisions are based things like safety and stability,” Harris said. “We certainly don’t let anyone out into the community unless we believe it’s therapeutic, and also safe for the community.”

While some community members are concerned, others said they feel safe, with the sheriff’s office and fire department so close by.

“I think people need chances, even after those kinds of situations and hopefully he’s changed, so I guess we’ll see,” said one neighbor who wanted to remain anonymous.

Mary Clare Buckley, the review board’s executive director, said the facilities staff and representatives of Deschutes County Mental Health recommended that Persyn be granted the passes because he has made notable progress in his mental health treatment.

“The staff said he has been doing well and making progress,” Buckley told the paper. “We have no negative reports on him.”

If Persyn does well on the 45-minute passes, he could be considered for longer and more frequent passes.

Persyn was sentenced to a life of supervision under the Psychiatric Review Board, a five-member panel appointed by the governor..

Last year, the board determined that Persyn had made enough progress to transfer him to the Deschutes Recovery Center, a secure 16-bed facility operated by Telecare Corp. under contract with the county’s mental health agency.

The center, which opened in January 2011, provides around-the-clock supervision for up to eight residents referred by the review board and another eight placed through civil commitment. Residents are required to undergo at least 20 hours of mental health treatment per week.

State law requires the Psychiatric Security Review Board, which oversees criminal offenders deemed insane, to periodically review cases to determine the most appropriate level of supervision.

At the time of Persyn’s move to Bend, Clackamas County Chief Deputy District Attorney Greg Horner told The Oregonian that Persyn?s transfer was an ?irresponsible? move that sacrifices public safety. The paper said the Oregon Department of Justice opposed the transfer because of the violent nature of Persyn?s crimes and his mental illness.

Kevin McChesney, regional operations director for Telecare, told The Bulletin last year that the Bend facility is the most secure type of mental health treatment facility in the state, outside of the state hospital. Exterior doors are locked 24 hours a day, he said, and a secure fence surrounds the property.

Under some circumstances, patients are permitted to leave the facility and make trips into the surrounding community, McChesney said.