𝐂𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐔𝐏 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐓𝐘 𝐏𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐌𝐨𝐨𝐫𝐞, 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐞𝐰𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 The criminal case against Codi Alan Neifert, 32, of Roseburg, seemed interesting enough on its face due to the combination of charges, but it was only half the story. Although Neifert has since been granted a conditional release from jail, his initial charges included both first- and second-degree criminal trespass, third-degree escape and unlawful possession of methamphetamine. And it all started with a case of offensive littering, the lowest classification of misdemeanor in Oregon Revised Statutes. Undersheriff Brad O’Dell of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office confirmed for The News-Review that the sheriff’s office has a deputy specializing in the investigations of illegal dumping and other forms of illegal dumping. The position was created a few years ago at the request of the Douglas County Commissioners and Solid Waste Department, respectively, and is funded by a budget allocation from the latter. Deputy Tony Momphard is currently working the assignment. Momphard’s case against Neifert started the day after Christmas, when he responded to tips from his fellow deputies about a motor home abandoned in the right-of-way on Joseph Street just north of the Roseburg city limits. Momphard recognized the motor home right away and, with his knowledge of the area and its residents due to previous littering complaints, initiated an investigation that led to Neifert. Neifert allegedly just got rid of the motor home because he and his friends were no longer using it. Neifert reportedly learned of the case and laid low until Feb. 7, when Momphard made a periodic search of the area and spotted Neifert on a bicycle. Momphard had to turn his vehicle around, by which time Neifert was pedaling quickly towards town. Momphard eventually ditched his vehicle to chase Neifert’s bicycle down the railroad tracks, but Neifert sped across a couple busy streets and past a samaritan who tried to stop him. Neifert eventually ditched his bike, climbed a fence, and attempted to hide in a mobile home park where a resident spotted him in a yard and called the police. Backup arrived from the sheriff’s office and the Roseburg Police Department. Law enforcement caught Neifert with methamphetamine in his possession. Momphard arrived at the scene and found more paraphernalia, including empty plastic baggies, tinfoil, and a scale. County Solid Waste Director Nick Frisinger told The News-Review that the formation of the dedicated law enforcement position began with the public’s observations of the amount of garbage being dumped on both public and private lands, and that the county recognized the need for a deputy to focus on those crimes which have the potential to harm land and waterways. He also confirmed his department fully funds the position, which was initiated in 2020, through a budget transfer to the public safety fund. The county’s Chief Financial Officer, Dan Wilson, told The News-Review that the cost of the position, inlcuding wages and equipment, averages approximately $175,000 per year. Momphard accepted the assignment about two years ago, upon the retirement of the previous deputy working the position, and did so not only at the urging of O’Dell but also because “It has to be done.” Momphard explained that he spends personal time in the woods, hunting or recreating with his family, and sees the landscape spoiled by the trash. “It upsets me. This is a way I can impact that,” Momphard said. Momphard begins many of his shifts checking on prohibited camps in the valley, either those he knows to be recently occupied or areas where camping has been a recent issue, because camping sites are often also the sites and sources of litter. Under state law, such camps can be posted with a 72-hour notice for evacuation, plus there is a county code prohibiting overnight camping in certain areas, and violations of that code can be enforced once every 24 hours. As part of his training for the assignment, Momphard did a “ride-along” shift with the Medford Police Department’s Livability Team, a section of their Community Engagement Division that specializes in patrolling and enforcing Medford’s parks and Bear Creek Greenway. That assignment brings the team in contact with their unhoused community, prohibited camps, and illegal activity within Medford’s exclusion zone. Wednesday morning Momphard checked a bridge under which he knew a man and woman were camping, and found them moving their belongings up the bank. Their camp had been posted for removal, and Mompard had recently issued the woman a citation. “That usually pushes them somewhere else,” he said. The woman recognized Momphard immediately and said “If you need to ticket me, ticket me.” She talked about the recent cold, saying “I don’t mean to be whiny, but I don’t need to freeze.” Momphard demonstrated knowledge of the couple’s situation, which includes the woman’s recent homelessness and the man’s current employment. She told Momphard, “I never felt like a transient until now!” Since the couple was in the process of moving, and the man was already late for work, Momphard told them he would check back on Thursday or Friday, and would have to take enforcement action if the camp was still there or any litter was left behind. Then he headed up into the woods. Cases are assigned to Momphard from a variety of sources. Many of them are self-initiated by his observations while patrolling the backroads and wooded areas, but others come from reports and tips from citizens, or from his fellow deputies. For example, a patrol deputy may get a littering complaint on one of Momphard’s days off, initiate an initial report, and refer it to Momphard for further investigation. A deputy might also tag an abandoned vehicle or prohibited camp for removal, and those are also assigned to Momphard. Already this year, he’s worked approximately 20 cases, with six or seven still open and pending further investigation. Momphard described vehicle camping as a related issue, involving people living in their cars or recreational vehicles. They move around, but often leave litter behind. Eventually, the recreational vehicles get abandoned and often used as garbage dumpsters. He once found a boat filled with trash. Tracking dumped vehicles back to their most recent owners can be difficult because the previous owner often doesn’t remember to whom they sold it, though they are required to report the transfer to the Department of Motor Vehicles within 10 days. On Wednesday Momphard patrolled Roberts Mountain and the Callahans, from Dillard through Melrose, checking the problem areas and looking for new ones. He recognizes old dumping sites and knows when new trash has been mixed in. At every wide spot in the mountains, he pulls over and looks down the bank. Any new trash gets assigned a case number, after which Momphard notifies the Public Works Department for a clean-up job by their work crew, comprised of people on probation working off their penalties. In addition to offensive littering, a class C misdemeanor, Momphard looks for evidence of crimes such as depositing trash near waters, criminal trespass and even criminal mischief if the land is damaged or the cost of the cleaning and repair is excessive. The sheriff’s office, and especially Momphard, is making arrests on those misdemeanors rather than issuing citations, and finding that many offenders are surprised to learn their conduct was a crime rather than a simple violation. Momphard found multiple new dumps Wednesday, mostly in the Kent Creek, Strickland Canyon and Rice Creek areas. He covers the entire county and varies his searches and investigations from week to week, patrolling distal areas such as Azalea and Reedsport at different intervals. His new cases Wednesday included a large television dumped near an older, burned dump site, a trench filled with trash near a popular shooting area and a mattress that slid down a hill alongside other household items. Momphard mentioned how the interior parts of mattresses are recyclable through the Solid Waste Department, and laughed when he found recyclable cans since many offenders complain about landfill fees: “They’re just throwing away money.” Commissioner Chris Boice told The News-Review he was the liaison to the Solid Waste Department when landfill fees were necessary to keep the department solvent and comply with Department of Environmental Quality regulations, which led to concerns that fees would lead to an increase in illegal dumping. Based on that, the county created a financial model by which solid waste revenues would have to be used on issues related to solid waste collection and removal. Within that model, they built the cost of an enforcement officer into the solid waste fee structure, with the goal of enforcement as a deterrent to illegal dumping. --- Patrick Moore is a reporter for The News-Review. Cleaning up the countywww.nrtoday.comThe criminal case against Codi Alan Neifert, 32, of Roseburg, seemed interesting enough on its face due to the combination of charges, but it was only half the story.