Police: Suspect bailed out by victim's fundraiser

VANCOUVER, Wash. – Vancouver police are looking into alleged improper use of funds gathered from fundraisers that were held after a popular teacher was killed in a hit-and-run incident in September.

According to a story Friday in The Columbian newspaper, some of the money may have been used to bail the suspect in the case out of jail.

Gordon Patterson, 50, died Sept. 15 when police say 18-year-old Antonio Eugene Cellestine hit Patterson from behind in his car. Patterson was traveling by bike south of St. Johns on 41st Street. After the collision, police said Cellestine left Patterson dying near his mangled bicycle.
 
Patterson was a popular teacher at Hudson’s Bay High School in Vancouver. He often rode his bicycle to the school.

Now, investigators think Mallory Ewart used money raised for Patterson’s family to bail Cellestine out of jail. Ewart is reportedly Cellestine’s girlfriend.

She reportedly organized fundraisers for Patterson's family after his death, including car washes. However, when she gave the money to the family, some of it was apparently missing. This prompted the investigation.

Court records said jail tape recordings revealed Cellestine and Ewart talked about diverting the money from the car wash to pay Cellestine’s bail. Investigators also said Ewart talked about the plan on her MySpace page.

The revelation that money was diverted came as a blow to members of First Evangelical Church, which is where Patterson worshipped. It is also across the street from the restaurant where the fundraiser was held.

Twenty-eight people made donations that totaled about $400. But only $190 came back.

“It takes some gall – gall,” said Joy Kersteter, a member of the church. “It’s very unbelievable that somebody would prey on people that way – to use the situation to help somebody who was the cause of the situation.”

Cellestine faces hit-and-run charges in Patterson’s death. More recently, he has been charged with marijuana possession and as a minor in possession of alcohol while out on bail.

He is currently back in jail and is being held without bail. His brother also has been arrested in the hit-and-run investigation.
    
Ewart is scheduled to appear in court next week. She is charged with third degree theft, which carries a maximum of one year in jail. She and Cellestine both had been students at Hudson’s Bay.
 
Get more details on this story in the print edition of Vancouver's The Columbian newspaper.