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Arsonist gets deal, treatment Personality disorder leads to agreement By CHRIS BRISTOL A mentally ill Medford woman, whose alter ego "Sam" was believed responsible for a dozen brush fires last summer, has been placed in the care of the state Psychiatric Review Board for 40 years. Pamela Sue Gore, 45, was diagnosed as suffering from multiple personality disorder, leading to a rare deal Wednesday in which she was allowed to plead guilty "except for insanity" to two counts of first-degree arson. Jackson County Judge Ray White accepted the plea and sent Gore to the Oregon State Hospital in Salem, where she will be evaluated. Under terms of the deal, she was placed under the jurisdiction of the psychiatric board for two 20-year sentences to be served consecutively. The board decides her future supervision. "I hope things work out for you," the judge told Gore. "I know this has been a real struggle." "Thanks, your honor," she replied. At one point during the proceeding, she waved shyly to several supporters in attendance. Deputy District Attorney Tim Barnack said investigators believe Gore set at least 15 brush fires in July, typically on state forest lands. None did much damage. She was charged with seven counts of first-degree arson. The two counts she admitted involved a fire July 8 in the 7900 block of Rapp Lane, near Talent, and one July 26 near Medford in the 3800 block of Pioneer Road. The fact that nobody was harmed and no property was damaged is beside the point, Barnack said. "This is something that easily could have got out of control," he said. "She was just setting them off again and again and again." An interagency task force of state and local authorities initially identified Gore as a suspect based on a prior conviction for reckless burning, Barnack said. Defense attorney Don Scales said the deal was fair, given that a psychiatrist concluded she was too disturbed to assist in her own defense and represented a threat to herself and the community. Barnack said he is usually skeptical of insanity defenses, but not this time. "This is a good compromise," he said. "It satisfies the state ... and she gets treatment we can't provide here." Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA