Kaufman
Kaufman teenager victimized before death in Oregon

Jun 22, 2008

Shon Jerrod Estes, 22, was arrested earlier this month in Kansas on charges he sexually assaulted 15-year-old Dani Countryman of Kaufman hours before she was killed.

Mr. Estes was being held in Finney County, Kan., on charges of third-degree sodomy, sex abuse and attempted rape. Detective Jim Strovink, a Clackamas County, Oregon sheriff's spokesman, said Mr. Estes is fighting extradition to Oregon, according to The Oregonian.

Ms. Countryman was ending a month-long visit to family near Portland, Oregon when she was slain. Her body was found by her half-sister, Ashley Countryman, on July 29. The teen was to have returned home later in the day.

Two men -- Alejandro Emeterio Rivera Gamboa, 24, of Clackamas and his cousin, Gilberto Javier Arellano Gamboa, 23, of Milwaukie, Ore. -- have been charged with aggravated murder, attempted rape and attempted sex abuse. Their trial is set to begin Sept. 30.

Both men have admitted to entering the U.S. illegally from Mexico.

Rivera Gamboa had two 2006 convictions for drunk driving. Local authorities, however, did not report the arrest to federal immigration authorities. The arrests likely would have brought almost immediate deportation.

However, the arrest on murder charges has prompted county officials to screen illegal immigrants more closely.

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