An anti-mask activist from the Gresham area of Portland has been found guilty of all charges stemming from a violent confrontation inside a Eugene cookie shop in 2021.
A 12-member jury handed down their verdict in Lane County Circuit Court Tuesday. It found Amy Verlee Hall guilty of assault (in the third degree), burglary (first degree), criminal trespass (second degree), disorderly conduct (second degree), and harassment.
The charges stem from a November 3, 2021 incident where Hall and an accomplice, Ricki Collin, entered Crumb Together and confronted co-owner Deirdre Strirpe over the pandemic facemask policy. They got into a verbal -then physical – altercation with Stirpe, with screaming, shoving, struggling, and the removal of a bat Stirpe had taken out as things became heated.
Hall and Collin left with Stirpe’s bat, then immediately came across several Eugene Police officers. The pair showed the officers their own video of the encounter, which led to their arrest.
Hall is scheduled to appear for sentencing February 9th.
Meanwile, authorities say Collin is at large and warrants for his arrest have been issued in Lane and Washington counties.
Crumb again? A new cookie shop is opening soon
Meanwhile, a new cookie shop is opening in downtown Eugene, in the same space once occupied by Crumb Together on Oak Street.
Doughmo’s Cookie Company promises “big cookies, rad vibes” and is based in Hawaii. It’s opening its first mainland shop by month’s end.
Kodie Dorman is a business partner with the company owner, who was renovating the shop with her husband, Bradley, this week. She told KLCC that their cookies feature Hawaiian accents, while Doughmo’s website says some proceeds go to animal rescues, Alzheimer’s Research, and women’s health and abortion funds.
Owners of now-shuttered business struggled with area, online issues
Crumb Together closed just over a year after the anti-masker incident, and after more than a decade in the downtown. The shop became a reluctant viral flashpoint when Hall and Collin assaulted Stirpe, leading to online taunts from other anti-maskers, and a deluge of cookie orders from those sympathetic to the business. At several times the orders were so massive, Crumb Together had to pause business and close the physical storefront.
When Deirdre Stirpe and her husband Tony announced they were closing for good in October 2022, they didn’t hold back the frustration and disappointment they had with trying to operate a business in downtown Eugene.
“Keeping our door open – we used to think- would push our cookie smell out into the street and invite people to come in for delicious treats,” explained Tony Stirpe. “That’s not what happens anymore more. What comes through our door and what gets near our door is frankly frightening to us at some times.”
The Stirpes also expressed disappointment with the World Athletic Championships, which Eugene hosted last year. They said the hype and anticipated economic boost from the sporting event never materialized for them and many others in the city.
©2023, KLCC.
