PORTLAND — A longtime Multnomah County Sheriff’s employee and Vancouver resident who cut corners to give her adult son a concealed handgun license has lost her job.
Lana Marie Smith, also known as Lana Smith-Bjork, was ordered to resign from her job, which she has done already. Multnomah County Circuit Judge Cheryl Albrecht also sentenced Smith Thursday to two years of probation and 120 hours of community service.
Smith, 57, worked for the sheriff’s office for 24 years — most recently as a senior office assistant in the unit that processes concealed handgun licenses.
Smith approved a license in August for her son without fingerprinting him, running a criminal history check or checking references.
“She tried to do him a favor and bypassed all those steps and issued him a license,” prosecutor Don Rees said.
Authorities don’t believe she abused her power to help anyone else improperly obtain a license. Later, her son applied for a license and received one after proper background checks were completed. Rees said Smith’s conduct would have been much more serious if her son hadn’t been eligible for a concealed handgun license.
Smith pleaded guilty to first-degree official misconduct. Smith is barred from possessing weapons, and she must pay a $500 fine.
Smith’s attorney, Bill Walsh, said his client is devastated.
“The arrest and news articles, frankly, has done more to sentence her than any misdemeanor she got out of it,” Walsh said.
