By RAELYNN RICARTE
News staff writer

The Hood River probation violation case involving a mother who was convicted of causing the death of her baby in 2006 is moving forward on two tracks.

Defense Attorney Jack Morris is seeking a dismissal of the February drug use charge brought against Amanda Shirk, 24, a former Hood River resident. At a March 11 hearing, he argued that three Multnomah County deputies had “exploited” his client in order to gain an arrest.

 Shirk allegedly made an admission of drug use on Feb. 4 and consented to the search of a Wood Village motel room. At the time, she was handcuffed but had not officially been placed under arrest and briefed about her rights.

Morris told Judge Paul Crowley that Shirk, out in the hallway, was not reunited with her infant son, who was sleeping on the bed, until she granted a search of the room. He believed she had been coerced into cooperating with authorities.

“This was very clearly an arrest. She was seized illegally; there’s simply no doubt about that; this was not a temporary detainment,” said Morris, senior partner at the Hood River law firm of Morris, Olson, Smith and Starns.

Crowley has not yet ruled on the motion to dismiss arguments presented by Morris and refuted by Deputy District Attorney Carrie Rasmussen.

“I think what we have here is a reasonable concern of the police officers to check on the safety of that child,” said Rasmussen.

Meanwhile, she has filed a new probation allegation against Shirk. On Monday, the defendant was arraigned for reckless endangerment of her second child.

Even if Morris prevails in his arguments regarding the first allegation, the case involving the new violation charge still awaits resolution. Shirk is not allowed, while on probation, to be around anyone using intoxicants. She is also prohibited by law from placing her child in a potentially harmful environment.

Crowley will hold a hearing on the new allegation at 3 p.m. on March 25. Rasmussen said the state will pay for a second court visit by Multnomah County Deputy Sean Mallory. Morris will be responsible to cover travel expenses for Deputies Pete Read and Rafael Cortada if he wants to question them further.

Morris’ arguments about police wrongdoing were disputed on March 11 by the three deputies, who each took the stand before Crowley.

They all said that knowledge of Shirk’s past gave them a valid reason to be concerned about the welfare of her young son. They said those concerns multiplied after the arrest of Jonathan Martinez, 29, the child’s father. He was taken into custody outside the Sandy Boulevard motel on Feb. 4 for an outstanding warrant. He was then found in possession of a glass pipe containing methamphetamine residue.

“We didn’t know if there was meth still in the room. So, we were concerned about leaving the baby in there with a potentially dangerous drug,” said Read.

Shirk allegedly attempted to keep deputies out of the room by shutting the door. She also reportedly became agitated and uncooperative after Martinez was removed from the scene.

Mallory said Shirk was placed in handcuffs for 15-25 minutes so law enforcement officials could obtain a search warrant.

“By me putting handcuffs on her, it just kind of calmed the situation down a little bit,” he said.

Mallory said, once Shirk granted permission for a search, he and Read found a digital scale used to weigh narcotics hidden beneath the mattress. They also found what Mallory believed was a knife but Read referred to as a straight razor, a tool he said was commonly used to prepare narcotics for ingestion.

Shirk disavowed knowledge of either item, as she did the glass pipe.

Read, a former detective for the Hood River City Police Department, was the first to arrive at the motel. The manager of the business had reported suspicious late-night behavior by Martinez in the parking lot. Since there had been a recent rash of car prowls in the area, that individual was concerned about the situation.

Read then briefed Mallory, the next to arrive, about Shirk’s prior criminal history. He believed she was the woman who had checked into the motel with Martinez.

In 2006, Shirk had rolled over and smothered her 2-month-old son, Aiden, in her sleep. She had spent several days ingesting meth, marijuana, acid and alcohol before lying down with the baby on the sofa of her 15th Street apartment.

Deputy Cortada, the last to arrive, did not get briefed about Shirk until later. He first took up a position at the rear of the building with a canine unit. His task was to watch the window of Martinez’ unit after Mallory and Read knocked on the door. They believed the suspect might attempt an escape.

Cortada was not present for the handcuffing of Shirk but later engaged her in a conversation that reportedly led to her admission of meth use the prior week.

All three deputies said that, once it became clear Shirks’ child was unharmed, they released her and she was free to leave the premises. Her arrest for alleged drug use came two weeks later.