Oregon City Murder Arrest; Meridian Crime Spree Suspect

Police arrested 29-year-old Jacob Klein of Springfield in Boise on Oct. 24 after a multi-day crime spree in Meridian that allegedly included stealing a juvenile’s golf cart at Settlers Park on Oct. 22 by using physical force and threatening the victim with a box cutter and scissors, and stealing a black Volkswagen Jetta from a Meridian residence on Oct. 23. Boise officers pursued Klein after the auto theft; he fled and abandoned the vehicle near West Fairview Avenue and North Orchard Street, was located and, after a brief foot chase, resisted arrest before being subdued, medically cleared and booked into the Ada County Jail on robbery and grand theft auto charges. Separately, 56-year-old William Glen Blake was arrested Oct. 24 in Oregon City and charged with second-degree murder, second-degree abuse of a corpse, unlawful use of a weapon and tampering with evidence in the death of 38-year-old Jennifer Ruth Stuart, whose remains were found Sept. 1 in Mount Hood National Forest and whose death was ruled a homicide. Authorities say Stuart was likely killed during an Aug. 15 argument at the couple’s home; Blake’s 15-year-old son was arrested on charges of second-degree abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence for allegedly helping move the remains, while his 17-year-old son, Austin Michael Blake, is still wanted. Investigators are seeking a 2002 red-and-gray Chevy Avalanche with Texas plates TFN3197 believed connected to the Blake case; tips about Blake, the teen or the truck can be submitted to the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office tip line at 503-723-4949 or online referencing case number 25-018448. Anyone with information on Klein’s crimes should contact Meridian Police Dispatch at (208) 377-6790.