A Umatilla man is in the hospital and a Hermiston man is in jail today following a stabbing incident Monday night.
Hermiston police arrested Alex Ortega, 25, of Hermiston, for allegedly stabbing Jentry P. Wedge, 25, of Umatilla, around 9:45 p.m. Monday night.
According to Hermiston Police Chief Jason Edmiston, the Hermiston Police Department received a report of a man who was thrown from a vehicle in the 800 block of North First Street. Officers found Wedge who had been stabbed in the abdomen by an acquaintance, who turned out to be Ortega. Wedge was admitted to Good Shepherd Medical Center and is being treated for non-life threatening injuries.
Ortega was charged with second-degree assault and lodged in the Umatilla County Jail. Police believe Wedge was stabbed while riding in Ortega’s 1996 Honda Civic. The vehicle was impounded.
Also arrested was Nina J. Hodges, 22, of Hermiston. Hodges was arrested on a probation violation only, and lodged at the Umatilla County Jail in Pendleton.
The Hermiston Police Department was assisted by the Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office, the Stanfield Police Department, and the Oregon State Police.
“This isolated and quickly contained incident involved three persons known to each other with what we believe was a very unique ‘friendship’ leading to a dispute taking place inside a moving vehicle,” Edmiston said. The chief said Ortega made what he considered a confession to the stabbing.
“All three of these individuals have had numerous contacts with area law enforcement over the years,” he said.
