Baker City shooting suspect could be charged as adult

Published 10:00 am Sunday, July 17, 2022

BAKER CITY — Baker County District Attorney Greg Baxter is seeking to have the 17-year-old suspect in a fatal shooting in Baker City on Wednesday, July 13 tried for second-degree murder and unlawful use of a weapon as an adult rather than a juvenile.

Baxter confirmed on Friday, July 15 that he had filed for a motion for a waiver under an Oregon law, ORS 419C.349.

Under that law, a district attorney can seek a hearing in a case in which a suspect who was 15, 16 or 17 years old is accused of a crime that, if committed by an adult, would constitute a Class A or Class B felony.

The male suspect is accused of fatally shooting another juvenile male just after midnight on July 13 in the parking lot at the Baker Technical Institute, on the Baker High School campus.

Police have not released the name of the victim or the suspect, nor have they given the age of the victim, who died at the scene.

Police haven’t said what type of gun was used.

Baxter said he couldn’t give any additional details. He said the investigation is continuing.

The 17-year-old suspect was taken to a juvenile detention facility in The Dalles.

The shooting was reported at 12:25 a.m. on July 13, according to a press release from the Baker County Sheriff’s Office.

The caller told a dispatcher that the shooting suspect had fled.

Baker City Police officers responded and found a male juvenile with a gunshot wound. Efforts to save the victim were not successful.

Police also found a female juvenile at the scene who was not hurt.

Police haven’t said whether the female juvenile who was in the parking lot reported the shooting, or whether someone else called police.

According to the state law dealing with juveniles being prosecuted as adults, a judge can consider, among other criteria, whether:

• “The youth at the time of the alleged offense was of sufficient sophistication and maturity to appreciate the nature and quality of the conduct involved.”

• “The amenability of the youth to treatment and rehabilitation given the techniques, facilities and personnel for rehabilitation available to the juvenile court and to the criminal court that would have jurisdiction after transfer” (to adult court).

• “The aggressive, violent, premeditated or willful manner in which the offense was alleged to have been committed.”

• “The previous history of the youth, including: prior treatment efforts and out-of-home placements; the physical, emotional and mental health of the youth; the youth’s prior record of acts that would be crimes if committed by an adult; the gravity of the loss, damage or injury caused or attempted during the offense.”

The law also gives the prosecutor the right to have at least one psychiatrist or licensed psychologist, of the prosecution’s choice, examine the juvenile defendant.

Baxter said he doesn’t know how long it typically takes for a judge to decide on a motion seeking to prosecute a juvenile defendant in adult court.

A defendant convicted of second-degree murder as an adult could be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.