A Keizer homeless woman, Jennifer Hoefler, was sentenced to prison on April 5, to 3 years in prison after pleading guilty to multiple petty crimes throughout hundreds of police contacts in 2022 and 2023, according to a brief from Keizer Police.
Hoelfer had numerous run-ins with police for repeated criminal offenses such as trespassing and theft which caused “public nuisance and a resource drain on the police department,” the brief stated.
According to Keizer police, Hoefler would often return to a business or property after having been trespassed, or removed by Keizer Police, from the location.
According to Keizer Community Response Unit Detective Andrew McCowan, the officer assigned to the case, he is “responsible for identifying livability issues in the City of Keizer and finding long-term solutions.”
In the case of Hoefler, “The Keizer Police Department and Keizer’s Code Compliance Officer, Ben Crosby, [have] spent a considerable amount of time and effort attempting to connect with [her] and offering her resources,” McCowan finished.
McCowan described how Hoefler had been offered resources such as entrance into the Marion County Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) Program, a program that connects people with treatment options, housing and other resources such as the ARCHES Inn located in Salem.
Where the Marion county DA’s office had previously declined prosecution of Hoefler, they have now determined to consolidate her cases, subsequently charging her.
When asked about what police do in situations where a homeless individual refuses service offers from a police officer, Keizer Police spokesman Lt. Trevor Wenning responded that they do, “nothing other than holding them accountable to state and constitutional laws if they break them.
Contact Quinn Stoddard
[email protected] or 503-390-105
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