Drug charge dropped

Charges for possession of methamphetamine filed against Brent Sherman Jr. following a police raid in Bend have been dropped, according to Deschutes County District Attorney Mike Dugan.

Charges that Sherman tried to extort, with a baseball bat, $10,000 from a lawyer who used to represent him are still pending.

As a result of the various charges and investigations, Sherman was returned in 1995 to federal prison in Lompoc, California, from which he had been paroled after serving about 10 years for a California bank robbery.

Sherman, 46, is currently in Deschutes County jail waiting trial on the drug and extortion charges.

Sherman had an office in Sisters and was doing business as Cascade Aircraft Salvage prior to a raid in 1994 by Oregon State Police investigating alleged racketeering, arson, income tax evasion, criminal conspiracy, forgery, theft by deception and theft related to stolen aircraft radios and avionics.

Following that raid, Sherman moved to an office in Bend and opened a service called Erotic Entertainment.

In July, 1995 Sherman allegedly brought a baseball bat into the office of Bend attorney Jonathan Basham and demanded that Basham return $10,000 Sherman claimed he paid the lawyer. Basham had represented Sherman, Brent Sherman's father, Jack, and Cascade Aircraft Salvage.

Following that alleged incident, Basham informed Bend police that a painting Sherman had allegedly given him as collateral for legal services may have been stolen.

As a result of the tip, Bend police raided Sherman's home and office in 1995. During those raids, police discovered the small packet of methamphetamine and aircraft radios that were allegedly stolen.

Sherman has claimed that the drugs found in his office during those searches belonged to an employee. Sherman's attorney, Jonathan Ash, has said that the searches executed on Sherman's home and office went beyond the scope authorized in the search warrant.

D.A. Dugan said the drug charges were dropped because Sherman has already served more time waiting for trial than he would earn for the possession.

As to plea bargaining on the extortion, Dugan said he would be uncomfortable reducing the charge to menacing for an individual with Sherman's history.

Even if charges were reduced, Dugan said, Sherman's parole probably would not be reduced.

"The federal parole board made their own findings independent of what we do," Dugan said.

On July 2, Sherman is scheduled to either enter a guilty plea to reduced charges for the baseball bat incident or to receive a trial date on the extortion charges.

In the meantime, Oregon State Police are also in touch with the Oregon Department of Justice to see if the state would spearhead prosecution of Sherman for avionics thefts that allegedly occurred in at least three Oregon counties.