Scott Swanson
and Sean C. Morgan
Of The New Era
Law enforcement officials are investigating a Sweet Home resident who has been arrested for allegedly harvesting timber on land he did not own and bilking investors from five states and Germany in a mining investment scheme in the Quartzville area.
David R. Nonnemaker, 44, who also has a home in Longview, Wash., was arrested in Salem on Oct. 25, according to Linn County Sheriff Tim Mueller. Nonnemaker was renting and living in a house on North River Road at the time.
He was charged with 16 counts of aggravated theft, three counts of aggravated theft by deception, one count of racketeering.
He was arraigned on one count of first-degree aggravated theft and 14 counts of first-degree theft on Oct. 26, according to Linn County Circuit Court records. He will appear in court next for a status hearing on Nov. 28. He was released on $210,000 bail.
According to Mueller, Nonnemaker obtained money from investors to develop mining claims and harvest timber at the Quartzville townsite, where, Mueller said, he had no authority to harvest timber or mine.
Sheriff?s detectives have identified four landowners in the area who were unaware that the mining operation and timber harvest was going on, Mueller said. Detectives have also identified six investors who, Mueller said, gave Nonnemaker ?large sums of money,? in the belief that he was authorized to work in the area.
Investors and landowners victimized in the case include individuals in Germany, New York, Missouri, Oregon, California and Alaska, the sheriff said. He said detectives believe there are others who have been victimized by Nonnemaker, who operated under the business name of ?Western Sand and Gravel? and ?Western Mining.? Western Sand and Gravel was incorporated in Oregon in May 2004.
Assistant Sheriff Will McAnulty said investigators are still figuring out the actual amount and acreage that Nonnemaker is believed to have harvested.
He said the area in question is ?remote? and was ?too far away for owners to be checking on their property daily, even if they lived in Sweet Home.?
The Linn County Sheriff?s Office is investigating the case along with the Oregon Department of Justice, the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Forest Service.
Anyone who suspects they may have been victimized by Nonnemaker should call (877) 292-1313, a special number set up for assistance in this case.
Victims listed in the case include Yvonne Hurst, John Howard, Weyerhaeuser, Mary?s River Lumber, Bald Knob Veneer Company, Zip-I Log Mills, Pacific Lumber Company, Sheik Rahman, Stacey Passeri, Rick Grenz and Gary Ashley, according to Circuit Court records.