A year ago, Jammi Lee Oxford killed herself. On December 17, 2020 she took her life at Morro Bay, California, in the same spot where her mother had committed suicide before her. Jammi had been living in a Chrysler minivan at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds. She fled in terror after her name had been attached to an anonymous letter to the county commissioners. In that letter, she attempted to notify the commissioners about dangerous conditions at the homeless/squatters camp and open-air drug market. Even though the letter had been submitted anonymously, her name (appearing in the email address) was blurted out when it was read aloud during the public comment section of the meeting.
She had wanted the commissioners to know about a drug dealer operating at the Fairgrounds. She reported that the dealer and his associates were “harassing and bullying” others. “Is there anyone out there?” she asked in a plea for help.
At the next meeting she said there was no point trying to hide her identity since her request for anonymity had not been honored. Now she told the commissioners she was fleeing in fear of the drug dealer she had attempted to report to them. “I have nothing more to lose,” she wrote. She related troubling misconduct by this person, whom she called “Brian.” She said he had managed to gain control over the supplies from the Food Bank and had used that control to gain power over people dependent on that food. He had designated himself “camp cook.” She suggested she had been punished, had fallen out of disfavor and had been denied food. “I have gone to bed hungry. He has shown me how cruel he can be.” She told the commissioners that she had been warned he had hired someone to “take care of” her. She said she didn’t run from people, but she was running now in fear for her life.
“Please, I express my concerns in desperate need of this safe place to be without my life being in jeopardy,” she closed.
That is Jammi Lee Oxford in the photo at the head of this article.
Jammi’s daughter is Kristan Sigler. She was recently promoted to E5, Petty Officer Second Class, in the United States Navy. She reached out to ask if the woman I mentioned in a September 9, 2020 story might have been her mother. She was. I remembered the scared, sensitive, fragile woman who told me she just wanted a place to be safe. She was soft spoken, courteous, and damaged. It was obvious to me she had been homeless for a long time and likely had some serious substance abuse issues. I talked to Jammi a second time, when she was drinking straight liquor in the early afternoon. But so were many of the others in cars and tents at the Fairgrounds that bright, sunny August day.
A man who identified himself as Brian told me that for that night’s dinner he was making steak “for everyone.” That apparently included one of his dogs. It ran by with a large steak in its teeth. This man acted like he was in charge and spoke of plans for a larger encampment. At the time, the homeless and transients were limited, with only one or two exceptions, to a single line of tents and run-down vehicles against the fence that separated the Fairgrounds from the apartments on the next property. He waved his hand over the grassy field. “We want five acres,” he told me. And he explained how “we” (he purported to speak for others) effectively became squatters when “we” decided to exploit the Governor’s no-eviction order and stop paying the minimal camp fees they had been paying up to then. He also explained how many of them, like himself, had incomes, such as SSI and veteran’s and retirement benefits. They just weren’t going to be spending any of it on compensating the Fairgrounds for living there and using the bathrooms with endless hot water and showers, the waste hauling service and the electricity they were tapping into through very, very long extension cords snaking across the field.
Ms. Sigler says that her mother fled the Fairgrounds in terror. A severe downward spiral began when her identity as the letter writer was revealed. Jammi asked Kristan to get her a gun. She thought that because her daughter was in the Navy she would have access to a weapon she could give her mother.
Jammi had addiction problems and struggled with mental illness, Ms. Sigler says. She had suffered much abuse and trauma. The shock and terror that hit Jammi when her name was revealed despite signing her letter “Anonymous”… well, it just made everything worse. County Commissioner Greg Brotherton in the meeting when her second letter was read apologized for previously “outing” her, but the damage had been done.
Kristan Sigler will be visiting Port Townsend on the anniversary of Jammi’s death to spend some time at the Fairgrounds. Jammi had sought safety there. It was her last known place of more than itinerant residence before the terror descended and took hold of her life.
The commissioners should have listened to Jammi. The Fairgrounds became a very dangerous place. Twelve days after Jammi committed suicide in Morro Bay, a young woman was found dead outside her RV by the Fairgrounds employee who usually managed families and retirees spending vacation time in the grassy field. There were at least half a dozen other near-death overdoses handled by Port Townsend police and emergency medical personnel. Michael McCutcheon, then a Dove House employee, on Memorial Day weekend 2021 saved a woman from dying when he applied Narcan. One of the dealers who set up operations there—several relocated to the Wild West of the Fairgrounds—would use Narcan on addicts who OD’d in the tents and RVs.
One Port Townsend police officer on social media reported that he had been called out to the Fairgrounds at least a hundred times. Police records for incidents at the Fairgrounds cover nearly a thousand pages. I reported on some of these incidents in “Fairgrounds Police Log.” That story was published the same day Jammi killed herself.
There were assaults, thefts, fights, mental health crises every week. Neighbors were harassed, stalked and some were assaulted. Crime spiked in surrounding blocks. Neighbors lived in fear. One couple watched as a drunken Fairgrounds squatter fought and injured a police officer in their driveway.
The Fairgrounds is county property under lease to the Fairgrounds Association. Jammi’s wasn’t the only letter to the commissioners pleading with them to act. Others who lived in the tents and RVs wrote and called them regularly. Neighbors wrote them almost every week. The commissioners would wring their hands and talk about “meeting with both sides.” But they did nothing to stop the unfolding tragedy on property they ultimately control. They dumped all the problems on Port Townsend police. An overdose death didn’t shock them into action.
If you listen to the 9/8/20 commissioners’ meeting, where commissioner Brotherton apologized to Jammi for “outing” her, you will see that they were rather nonchalant about conditions at the Fairgrounds. They believed the problem would go away when the weather changed. Commissioner Kate Dean was more upset about a pro law enforcement “Back the Blue” event. In none of their meetings where the Fairgrounds was discussed will you find them spurred to act to end the drug dealing, violence and slow suicides underway on land under their jurisdiction. They could have moved in and cleaned things up, seen that the dealers were kicked out, imposed controls on who went in and out and what behaviors would not be tolerated, and provided round-the-clock security.
As it was, the Fairgrounds became the shopping market for local addicts. The woman who almost died (had not McCutcheon saved her) had come to the Fairgrounds from Seattle—a drug tourist who almost ended her travels here. One of the most notorious dealers—someone other than the man Jammi reported to the commissioners—went so far as to declare himself to police as the Fairgrounds camp leader.
Jefferson County Commissioners should have listened to Jammi and acted. They could have prevented a lot of pain and suffering. And death.
Jammi Lee Oxford was born on Christmas day. She would have been 44 this year.
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Other Port Townsend Free Press coverage of the squatters/homeless camp and open-air drug market at the Fairgrounds:
Lines Form in Battle for Future of Fairgrounds, 9/8/20
Transient/Homeless Village Grows at Fairgrounds, 10/29/20
Squatters Camp Grows at Fairgrounds, 12/1/20
A Grim Existence at the Fairgrounds, 12/9/20
Fairgrounds “Wild West” Spurs Neighbors to Demand Action, 8/2/21
Jim Scarantino was the editor and founder of Port Townsend Free Press. He is happy in his new role as just a contributor writing on topics of concern to him. He spent the first 25 years of his professional life as a trial attorney, then launched an online investigative news website that broke several national stories. He is also the author of three crime novels. He resides in Jefferson County. See our "About" page for more information.
Who stands up for children when we have a president openly groping children and when child trafficking runs rampant? Who stands up for animals when we take industrial breeding, slaughtering, suffering for granted as long as we get our packaged meat? Who stands up for the poor and homeless when many folks just want them not to be seen, heard or near their neighborhoods? Who gives a voice to innocence when they have no voice with the nonchalant bureaucrats that are supposed to be the representatives of all the people…rich and poor, young and old, vaccinated or unvaccinated, and all of our fellow creatures that we share this earth with? Thanks Jim for giving a voice to those who have no political power. When innocence dies we lose our sense of what it means to be a human being.
Our commissioners are not doing their job. Sad, but true.
Oh, so much sadness! I’ll lift Ms.Sigler up in prayer and ask the Lord to wrap her in His peace and comfort.
As tragic as this was, there really are some good people like Mike McCutcheon and many, many others who care a great deal about those with mental health and addiction issues. I have no doubt that Jammi was loved by many in this community.
What happened at the fairgrounds has been a man made disaster enabled and perpetuated by some really poor local leadership.
Also take a look at the Police and Sheriff’s logs in the Leader. Yeah, don’t be afraid. They just need help. Sadly, some do and are caught in the Port Townsend mess. Jim’s posting is about what goes on day in and day out for these people. If I were homeless, I would never join a group as mismanaged as Port Townsend’s. I would be moving alone and hiding my sleeping to untraveled areas and moving on the next day. My food would be for a small job and then move on. Before nightfall, I’d be back into a non-populated area and repeat it until I would hopefully find work nobody else wanted. If I died, the local wildlife could have my body (it’s only dead meat) as I would have moved on to the other side. And my wife would be waiting and we would have a new adventure begin.
People just needed a place to stay. They can’t control what people do.
We hear again and again, all across the country, of the tragedies brought on by incompetent leadership at all levels. Our state just about tops them all, sadly. What I absolutely will NEVER understand is why people in positions of responsibility like your commissioners are not recalled and replaced post haste for their blatant incompetence and uncaring attitudes that are costing people’s lives. We can cry and complain until the sun comes up over these tragedies, but that doesn’t fix the root of the problem….incompetence and agenda-driven “leadership” that is destroying not only Port Townsend, but the whole state.
Well put! You hit the nail on the head. The only nails that need to be hit is the PT City Council and the County Commissioners. Until then, it’s just going to get worse. Can you imagine Brian and his lot running PT and the county? Scary isn’t it.
I cannot believe you wrote some of the context of this article, especially the belief of what was said about a particular person. Brian was not as described. He fed many, and was not “in control” of the foods out there. He had cooking capabilities, and shared with most. I also knew Jammi personally, and I know that she had her own challenges. But she did not flee in terror! She chose to move on, and had told me about her trip prior to leavin. And her suicide, while tragic, was not because of the fairgrounds or the commissioners. She came on her own accord numerous times after those letters to the commisioners came out. You have no idea what daily life was like out there! There were some issues, yes, but your articles blew it way out of proportion. I spoke to Jim Scarantino personally, and explained some things to him, and he still slandered many people out there! Shame on him for smearing the names and faces of some good people without proper investigation. As a former attorney, I would think there would be further insight. I was out there every day as an outreach person and friend of many at that camp.
Ben, This is Jim Scarantino. I stand by what I wrote. I reported what Jammi wrote to the Commissioners, what her daughter has to say, what is in the police records, what neighbors told me and reported to the Commissioners and police, what I observed, and what I was told by people staying there. I wish you well as you move forward with your life. I will add that since this article was published I have learned Jammi sought, but was denied a place in a local domestic violence shelter and that the state denied a social worker’s request to put her up in a hotel room for her own safety.
Jim Scarantino,
Some are denied shelter at a domestic violence organization if it is found that the place is full, if they have a safe vehicle, or if they are not immediate running away from active domestic violence. I understand your perspective, but did you talk to Brian himself? And do you understand mental health and suicidal tendencies?
The state social work rejection is unfortunate, and I don’t know those circumstances. But I will say that as Jammi’s friend, and in our chats, she did come back to the fairgrounds numerous times after those letters, and did interact with Brian. So not all was revealed, but as I stated, I was there.
Ben is telling his version of the truth; Jim is telling his. Jammi’s daughter is telling her truth as well.
Mine is that it’s different for homeless women. People like Ben and Jim tend to make everything worse for us. One wants to force his political and religious beliefs on us, the other wants to gloss over problems and act like nothing’s wrong; so problems never get solved.
The bottom line is this: We who are homeless, especially women, need a safe secure space to park or sleep each night, and safe, secure shower facilities. We don’t need to hear about politics, we don’t need religion shoved down our throats, and we don’t need pollyannas who refuse to acknowledge and improve dangerous behaviors from other homeless people.
Brian is a nightmare. Also very charismatic when need be. But for women? A nightmare. Controlling, shaming, manipulating, he covers all that landscape. But sure. He can cook.
Why isnt there a business model in the USA which offers clean and safe toilets and showers for a small fee? More and more people are living out of cars, vans, boats, tents and so on. We just need safe places to get clean. Someone in the USA needs to rub money and brain cells together until something like a shower & laundry franchise appears. Not all of us want to live in tiny brightly painted mower sheds at a pushy church. We just need a safe place to park and shower, without all the preaching, self-righteousness and pollyannas.
W. Loomis: That is some email address you used to comment: “notachanceinhell@brothertonsucks.com.” In response to your comment, I do not force my beliefs on any person who is without shelter. I offer help, no strings attached, and am pleased to help distribute and prepare food for people who need some help. I ask nothing in return. I am hoping to soon be one of the persons directly responsible for providing safe parking opportunities. It has taken our church a long time to get going. We encountered resistance from neighbors and had to deal with some city issues. We also had to ramp up our food distribution program first and figure out how to do that. We deliver food now to about 20 families who can’t come to the bi-weekly distributions (no strings attached). We are now also helping with preparing two hot meals every week for the local homeless population (in addition to our periodic turn of cooking for the downtown shelter) and just filled up dozens of backpacks with clothing, person hygiene supplies, and other things that are being distributed to people getting out of jail or just having a rough time of it. I will speak out on my beliefs, and don’t hesitate to do that, but I don’t have the intention to or capability of forcing them on anyone. I wish you the best and a Merry Christmas. Jim Scarantino
W. Loomis: I do not appreciate your words about me. I did outreach DAILY out there! I knew Jammi, I spoke whith her about why she was leaving! She was my friend!
I was there! Where were you? When is one grateful for opportunities? A place to be warm? A tiny house to call their own?
Their is a place to shower, at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds. There will be a program for showers with a free token available soon.
And, you don’t know Brian, dude. You don’t know his intentions. He and Jammi cane to terms.
Please do more research before showing contempt prior to investigation.