Crook County home, car break-in thieves get years in prison

A Prineville woman and Bend man recently received lengthy prison terms for unrelated strings of home burglaries and car break-ins last fall. The man was sentenced under Measure 57 by a Crook County judge who ruled unconstitutional a Legislature-passed measure that would have sharply cut the repeat offender’s prison sentence, District Attorney Wade Whiting said Friday.

Last fall, Crook County law enforcement agencies saw a spike in reported property crime, both home burglaries and car break-ins, Whiting said. With help from witness descriptions and video security footage, officers were able to identify and arrest Akysa Kay Bennight, 21, of Prineville, for the home burglaries and Martin Todd Hollowell, 54, of Bend, for the numerous car break-ins.

Whiting noted in a news release that the only connection between the two is that the crimes occurred around the same time as “there is no evidence the defendants knew each other or were coordinating their efforts.”

A decade ago, Oregon voters overwhelmingly approved tougher penalties for major repeat property offenders with the passage of Measure 57, which means defendants are subject to mandatory minimum sentences that rise with each past conviction.

Bennight was sentenced July 19 to four years in prison, entering guilty pleas to numerous counts of burglary, theft and drug charges.

Bennight had no criminal convictions on her record, Whiting said, but Chief Deputy DA Raun Atkins resolved the cases, and Bennight got a long prison term due to the number of crimes, victims and damage.

Over a span of several months, Bennight broke into several homes and stole loose change, jewelry, firearms, small electronics, prescription pills, collectibles and other items that were easy to grab and put in her backpack, Whiting said.

Some victims were able to give police detailed descriptions of the stolen jewelry, and officers were able to track down and recover several items that had been sold at pawn shops. That led police to suspect Bennight, who when arrested had a backpack with several stolen items in them. Whiting said she admitted to police breaking into several homes and stealing items.

Hollowell was sentenced on July 13 to 10 years in state prison. Because a Crook County deputy DA was a witness in the case, Jefferson County District Attorney Steve Leriche agreed to handle the prosecution, as Hollowell also had similar charges pending in Jefferson County.

Hollowell pleaded guilty to numerous counts of theft, criminal mischief and identity theft. His extensive criminal history dates back to 1991, with at least 50 convictions, mostly for drug and property crimes. He also had been sentenced to prison four times for crimes in Deschutes County, the district attorney noted.

In the current case, Hollowell drove around town, looking for unattended cars in public places. He smashed car windows and stole valuables from inside, including debit cards he then used to withdraw large amounts of money at ATMs, Whiting said.

Witness descriptions and video surveillance at several area businesses led to the identification and arrest of Hollowell within a few days. He was indicted on 23 counts of property crimes. With at least 37 past property-crime convictions, Hollowell easily qualified as a repeat property offender, subjecting him to a longer prison sentence under Measure 57, which after voters approval was made part of the state Constitution.

However, Whiting said, during last year’s session, the Oregon Legislature passed a new law, HB 3078, the “Safety and Savings Act,” limiting the amount of prison time repeat property offenders could be sentenced to.

It was seen as a way to limit the prison population and reduce costs, Whiting said. But it would have reduced Hollowell’s presumptive prison sentence from 30 to 13 months for each ID theft conviction, despite his long criminal history.

But Whiting said HB 3078 was passed by a simple majority of lawmakers, not the two-thirds supermajority needed to overturn a voter-approved ballot measure. Many DA’s offices around the state took a position that the measure was unconstitutional.

Jefferson and Crook counties both filed motions with the court challenging the new law’s constitutionality and asking that the court sentence qualifying defendants under Measure 57 with the longer mandatory minimum prison terms of Measure 57.

Judge Daniel Ahern reviewed the legal briefs, heard oral arguments and deemed HB 3078 unconstitutional, as have numerous other courts around the state.

“Under the law deemed unconstitutional, Hollowell would have received a fraction of the prison time he was ultimately ordered to serve,” Whiting said, adding that his office “strongly believes in the promotion of public safety and will continue to advocate and fight for laws that keep our communities safe.”