Flight Risk Lori Deveny
Multnomah’s ankle monitors “would not properly fit” felon’s leg
There is growing alarm among the dozens of known victims of convicted felon Lori Deveny. Retired Multnomah Judge Jerry Hodson modified her release conditions last week, allowing for the removal of her ankle monitoring device, and placing the former Oregon attorney on the honor system.
The move comes just weeks before Deveny’s sentencing in federal and state court, on dozens of charges in each. Deveny was never required to post any bail in either case, despite having stolen at least $3.4 million from her vulnerable clients, through forgery and identity theft.
When asked about the inexplicable decision to remove Deveny’s GPS device, Clackamas County First Assistant District Attorney Scott Healy stated, “Multnomah County changed providers with regard to their GPS monitoring devices, and the technology would not properly fit Ms. Deveny. As a result, the Court has specifically ordered her not to leave the Tri-County area without the Court’s permission.”
Healy further clarified, “I know that [Multnomah] attempted to fit her properly with the devices in more than one manner, and the devices would not remain secure.”
His explanation does not withstand scrutiny, though: It is simply not possible that Lori Deveny is the first obese person to be arrested and placed on GPS monitoring.
During my cursory internet search, I could find nothing to suggest that any other obese person has had a problem being outfitted with an ankle monitor (please let me know otherwise). And looking at the most recent photo of her, from her August plea hearing, she looks like a typical overweight American. She won’t need to be buried in a piano crate.
Given Deveny’s ability to avoid significant consequences thus far (such as bail), one wonders if the most significant factor in her release and reverential treatment is that she is a wealthy white woman and well-connected attorney in a state run by white women attorneys.¹
When asked to assess the risk of Deveny fleeing before her sentencing, Healy stated, “While flight is always a concern, we in the Criminal Justice System have defendants out on pre-trial release, with conditions, in a majority of our cases, without incident. If Ms. Deveny were to flee, we would find her, take her into custody, and such conduct would not help her arguments to the Court in either upcoming sentencing hearing.”
Given that Deveny has international connections and has not yet accounted for the millions she stole, the public is not at all reassured. Nor is the public reassured by Multnomah’s handling of other high-profile ankle-monitoring cases.
¹ It is also quite reasonable to wonder how an indigent Black defendant of equal weight would get treated.
The Multnomah District Attorney’s Office had no comment on the matter, which is being handled by Clackamas. Deveny’s state-funded attorney Wayne Mackeson did not respond to a request for comments.
