Jason Robert Steiner (KGW) in a Multnomah County, Oregon courtroom on October 10, 2024.
Multnomah County, Oregon, prosecutors say the marijuana store employee who killed two robbery suspects did not leave the scene despite having an earlier opportunity to do so.
Attorneys for Jason Robert Steiner, 34, entered a not guilty plea on his behalf during a hearing Thursday, The Oregonian reported.
Authorities said the defendant, an employee of the local marijuana dispensary chain La Mota, was at the location on the night of Oct. 3, the station and NBC Portland affiliate KGW reported. Prosecutors said in the affidavit that he told officers he was the only employee there that night. He said he was in the back room when he heard a noise and went outside to find three people pointing guns at him.
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They released him, but Steiner was quoted as saying he feared they would kick him out because one of them wondered aloud what he had. are. Police said the suspect told investigators that once he got outside, he removed a gun from his backpack and waited at the door in case he was pursued. For example, he left his car keys in the building and expressed concern to the police officer that the robbers would take his car and “corner” him.
But the robbers did not give chase, he said. He allegedly approached the drive-thru window, thought one of the people inside had pulled out a gun, decided this was his “opportunity,” and fired until he ran out of bullets.
Steiner was the one who called 911. Upon arrival, police said they found King Lawrence, 18, dead at the scene. Tahir Barley, 20, also tried to breathe, but ultimately died there. Officers said the third person seen on surveillance footage had already fled.
Authorities have charged Steiner with two counts of second-degree murder and attempted murder after he failed to leave when he had the chance.
“At that time, there was no apparent reason why Mr. Steiner did not leave the area,” police wrote. “People were inside the building, the door was closed, and Mr. Steiner was around the corner, about the length of the building from the door.”
Surveillance footage largely matched his story, but it also showed that he fired “almost immediately” through the drive-through window, and that none of the three people inside had their guns drawn at the time. That's what investigators say. Burley was the only one to pull out a gun after Steiner shot him, authorities said.
Investigators said they found 13 shell casings at the scene. When law enforcement arrived on the scene, Steiner identified himself as the shooter and handed over a gun and an empty magazine, authorities said.
When asked why the semi-automatic rifle didn't have a serial number, he said he had made it himself, authorities said.
According to reports, on Dec. 15, 2021, Steiner crashed his pickup truck into the truck of another fired pharmacy owner, ran a red light and drove into an unmarked sheriff's patrol car. He was reportedly sentenced to three years' probation for the Dec. 15 incident. He continued driving until a sheriff's sergeant in his damaged patrol car safely caught him.
A former co-worker at NW Compassion Recreational and Medical Pharmacy told the outlet that Steiner had only been there for a few weeks before he was accused of stealing from the register.
He was not charged with theft, but pled guilty to charges including recklessly endangering another person on May 22, 2023 — days later, he renewed his state license to work at a pharmacy. However, he was reportedly not convicted.
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