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Death of a son inspires new bill By Dani Dodge Vicki Kelly�s son, Tommy, died after another person injected him with methamphetamine. Kelly wants to make sure no other family has to suffer his fate. This week, she got help in her quest from Rep. Rob Patridge. The Medford Republican legislator has written a bill making it a Class A felony to inject a minor with illegal drugs. He believes it could deter crimes like the one that contributed to the death of Kelly�s 17-year-old son two years ago. "People are scared of needles, and for some adult to say, �Come on, you�ll get a cool high� and inject a juvenile is not appropriate," said Patridge. "This sends the guy to prison, rather than just putting him in our jail or just probation." The bill is part of a package of legislation Patridge introduced this week to address legal issues the Kelly family discovered after their son�s death. Another bill would require police to report missing children immediately to a national database. He�s calling the package of legislation the "Tommy Laws." Kelly is calling Patridge a hero. "We are eternally grateful to Rob Patridge," she said. "He�s got a warm and kind heart, even if he is a Republican." Kelly hopes the laws will catch on nationwide. If they did, it would definitely be a good thing for children who go missing each year, said Jerry Nance, a case manager in the missing children�s division of the Virginia-based National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. "What this law will do is save lives," Nance said. "I really applaud Vicki. In the midst of dealing with her issues, she has persevered with a great deal of tenacity to get this done." Tommy Kelly was last seen alive Jan. 26, 1999, bloodied and covered in mud as he ran down Pioneer Road near his Phoenix home, telling neighbors, "They�re after me." His remains were found in a nearby orchard creek bed June 12, almost 1� years later. After the remains were discovered, police arrested Phillip H. Bendell, 31, on charges he gave the teen-ager meth at a party. In November, Bendell admitted that he had injected Tommy with meth before the teen disappeared in an apparent psychotic reaction to the drug. Bendell pleaded guilty to one count of delivering a controlled substance to a minor. Jackson County Judge Patricia Crain sentenced Bendell to a stiffer-than-normal sentence of 2� years in prison due to his prior convictions and because he injected the drug. Still, if the Tommy Laws were in effect, Bendell would have gotten nearly twice the time in prison, said Patridge. Patridge said while he was working as a Jackson County deputy district attorney, he saw several cases in which adults injected minors with drugs. Like Bendell, they were usually convicted of delivery of a controlled substance. The minimum sentence for the crime is probation. If Tommy Laws are passed by the state Legislature, conviction would mean time in prison. "Injecting a minor goes way beyond selling him a dime bag of marijuana," Patridge said. Kelly said she wants people to write their legislators and Gov. John Kitzhaber and urge passage of the Tommy Laws. "Tommy had problems, but it could have been anybody�s son," she said. "We don�t want what happened to us to happen to any other families or children. "We see this law as a beginning." Reach reporter Dani Dodge at 776-4471, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.