HILLSBORO Ore. (KPTV) – The Oregon City veterinarian accused of murdering a man at an Intel parking garage in Hillsboro was found guilty on Wednesday, according to the Washington Co. District Attorney’s Office.
A Washington County jury found Steven Neil Milner guilty of choking Kenneth Fandrich to death on Jan. 27, 2023 at the Intel facility where Fandrich worked as a contractor, after Milner had stalked and harassed Fandrich for several years.
According to court documents, Milner had an affair with a longtime employee, who was married to Fandrich. After Fandrich learned of her affair with Milner, Fandrich’s wife broke it off.
Milner responded by stalking Fandrich and his wife.
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In March 2022, Fandrich was granted a stalking protective order. According to court documents, this order followed years of harassment which included finding numerous GPS tracking devices that Milner had attached to Fandrich and his wife’s cars, and collecting home surveillance video showing Milner sneaking onto their property.
Despite the order, Milner installed another GPS tracking device on Fandrich’s car and followed him to his Oregon City home and, “more than a dozen times,” to his workplace at Intel Ronler Acres in Hillsboro, according to the DA’s office.
Milner was criminally charged in Clackamas County for breaking the court order, but continued to do so while on conditional release, the DA said.
October 2022, Milner bought a different car through Craigslist to more covertly follow Fandrich to his Hillsboro workplace.
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On Dec. 13, 2022, Intel surveillance cameras showed Milner at the parking structure in disguise. While there, he used spray paint to cover several security cameras, including those watching where Fandrich usually parked, to test Intel’s security.
Over the next several weeks, Milner repeatedly showed up in the Intel parking structure to watch Fandrich’s patterns as he came and went from work.
In early January 2023, Milner purchased a second car under a false identity – a minivan, which he used to continue watching Fandrich in the Intel parking structure.
On Jan. 27, 2023, Milner used both cars for his murder plan, the DA said.
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Two men stole from the nonprofit St. Johns Food Share early Saturday morning.
First, Milner entered the parking structure in disguise and waited for Fandrich to park his car and walk inside. Then, Milner again spray-painted the security cameras around Fandrich’s car.
Milner left the scene and returned in the recently purchased minivan, which he parked next to Fandrich’s car. He waited in the van until Fandrich got off work.
When Fandrich reached his car, Milner ambushed him from behind and grabbed him in a chokehold. After killing Fandrich, Milner staged his body and belongings back in his car, trying to make it look like he died of natural causes.
Fandrich was later found dead in his car, but an autopsy revealed injury to his neck and spine.
Police arrested Milner for the murder on Jan. 31, 2023.
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At trial, Milner testified in his own defense, claiming he acted in self-defense after Fandrich attacked him. The jury rejected this claim and found him guilty of second-degree murder, stalking, and seven counts of violating a protective order.
A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Feb. 18, 2025.
The University of Oregon’s Board of Trustees voted Tuesday to approve a $1.55 billion operating budget for the next fiscal year.
But they asked university leadership to return with an amended proposal by Dec. 15, when more details about future budget cuts will be known.
FILE — The Board of Trustees recently approved next year’s budget for the University of Oregon. The vote comes several weeks after the school’s president announced that he wants the university to reduce its annual budget as revenues and out-of-state enrollment decline.
Brian Bull / KLCC
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The vote comes several weeks after University of Oregon President Karl Scholz announced that he wants the school to reduce its annual budget by around $65 million.
At a trustees meeting Monday, Scholz said the estimated budget shortfall for next year is just around $23 million. But he said out-of-state enrollment is below historical norms for the second year in a row, and it’s unlikely to bounce back.
“One year can be an aberration. Two years is a pattern,” said Scholz. “And I believe we have to treat it as a new reality.”
Scholz said in May that discussions about the budget would happen over a six-month period. He said no final decisions about cuts would be made over this summer.
On Monday, UO Senate President Dyana Mason told trustees that the Senate had approved a new process to allow for community feedback in the cost-cutting process.
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Mason said the provost will work with the deans on budget proposals, finding “clear rationale” for why programs are considered for elimination.
The provost would then bring those proposals to the Senate Committee for Academic Modifications—which includes staff, faculty and students—for feedback.
Once the plans are nearly finalized, the Senate could then hold a period for public comment.
Mason told trustees that a six-month timeline is better than the three months that frustrated some staff last year, but she recommended taking however much time is necessary.
“The worst situation would be rushing forward to make decisions without appropriate evidence, data, feedback from the people that are most in the know about the impact on our students,” said Mason.
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UO’s Board of Trustees Chair Steve Holwerda said that every week that university delays the decisions could cost them millions of dollars.
Nathan Wilk is a reporter with the KLCC newsroom.This story comes to you from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.
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Oregon’s juvenile justice system has been reshaped in recent years by a sweeping reform law that changed how the state handles minors accused of serious crimes.
Senate Bill 1008, which took effect in 2020, ended automatic transfers of juveniles into adult court and eliminated life without parole sentences for juveniles. The law also created “second-look” hearings and established parole eligibility after 15 years for certain offenders who committed crimes before turning 18.
To help explain the law and its impact, KVAL’s Frannie Pedersen put together a timeline video tracing the history of Senate Bill 1008, from the passage of Measure 11 in 1994 to the reforms that later reshaped Oregon’s juvenile justice system.
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The video breaks down how the law changed, why lawmakers pushed for reform, and how SB 1008 continues to influence Oregon’s justice system today. Viewers can watch the full video for a detailed timeline and explanation of the changes.
PORTLAND, Ore. — A New Jersey man was sentenced to federal prison last Friday for conspiring to distribute fentanyl, announced U.S. Attorney Scott E. Bradford for the District of Oregon.
Mark T. Eager, 34, was sentenced to 135 months in federal prison and five years of supervised release.
“This defendant showed a blatant disregard for human life by trafficking fentanyl across the United States,” said U.S. Attorney Bradford. “My office will continue to pursue those who profit from poisoning our communities, and we will use every available resource and partnership to combat fentanyl trafficking and keep Oregonians safe.”
“This investigation brought together law enforcement agencies from across the nation,” said Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Seattle acting Special Agent in Charge April Miller. “Homeland Security Investigations special agents from Portland, Newark, and Houston contributed to the case, along with the Portland Police Bureau and HIDTA HIT officers, who were instrumental in identifying Eager. His 11-year sentence sends a clear message: no matter where you are in the country or the world, if you attempt to sell narcotics online to Americans, we will find you.”
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“Fentanyl trafficking poses a grave threat to communities across the United States, and Homeland Security Investigations is committed to working with our partners to disrupt and dismantle the criminal networks responsible,” said HSI Houston Special Agent in Charge Lucia Cabral-DeArmas. “This case demonstrates the power of interagency collaboration under the Homeland Security Task Force initiative, leveraging resources from across the country to hold traffickers accountable and protect the American people. We will continue to pursue those who endanger lives through the distribution of dangerous synthetic opioids, and we remain steadfast in our mission to safeguard our communities from the violence and instability caused by transnational criminal organizations.”
“By following this offender’s digital trail, Homeland Security Investigations and our law enforcement partners nationwide executed federal search warrants, dismantled an active dark web fentanyl packaging operation and recovered deadly amounts of fentanyl, thousands of dollars in cryptocurrency, and a trove of electronic devices and packaging materials,” said HSI Newark Acting Special Agent in Charge Spiros Karabinas. “This case is a powerful example of how coordinated, data-driven investigations can disrupt dangerous networks and help protect our communities from lethal synthetic opioids.”
According to court documents, from November 2023 through June 2024, Eager and his co-conspirator sold fentanyl on the Dark Net and Telegram. Eager operated as the vendor WRSEH10 and marketed the fentanyl as “China White Synthetic Heroin.”
In June 2024, HSI agents executed search warrants on two residences associated with Eager in Kearny, New Jersey, and seized over 360 grams of powdered fentanyl, counterfeit M30 pills, drug ledgers, cellular phones, two computers, and drug packaging consistent with three deliveries that were sent to Oregon.
On September 4, 2024, a federal grand jury in Portland returned a four-count indictment charging Eager with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and distribution of fentanyl.
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On February 4, 2026, Eager pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl.
HSI Portland and HSI Houston investigated this case with assistance from HSI Newark, the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) and the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Interdiction Task Force (HIT). Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Kerin prosecuted the case. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Jersey assisted the U.S. Attorney’s in Oregon in obtaining the search warrants that were executed in Kearny.
