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| Scene of shooting at Springfield Walmart (source) |
(UPDATED -- see below)
Two people went to a Walmart parking lot, in Springfield, Oregon, in a pre-arranged meeting with acquaintances involving a monetary transaction. But the two people they went to meet instead attacked them. One of the victims was beaten. The other was critically wounded when he was shot three times (in the torso and extremities).
Police responded, and a chase ensued. Both attackers were captured.
From an article:
Police on Saturday arrested Anthony James Hillenius, 20, and charged him with first-degree assault and two counts of first-degree robbery. Hillenius, who is also known as Anthony James Enlow, is suspected of firing the gun that sent one victim to the hospital with multiple gunshot wounds, Sgt. David Lewis said.
Also charged with two counts of first-degree robbery was Cory Lee Michael Monpas, also 20.
Lewis did not disclose the names of the two robbery victims but said they are not Lane County residents. The second victim was physically assaulted but not shot, Lewis said.
The first victim was shot in three different places, both in the torso and extremities, Lewis said. The victim was taken to PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend in Springfield.
Police have conflicting reports on how many shots were fired, Lewis said. A .45-caliber handgun was confiscated as potential evidence, he said.
The two suspects and the two victims were recent acquaintances, Lewis said. The meeting at Walmart appeared to be pre-arranged, he said. “There was to be an exchange of money for something else,” he said.
Lewis said police wish to interview another person who was not present at the shooting but may have facilitated the meeting. He said that as of this afternoon police were not certain of that individual’s name.
From another article:
Shortly after the shooting took place, two suspects were seen leaving the Wal-Mart parking lot in a blue Ford Thunderbird.
Troopers stopped the car about 15 minutes later and asked the driver and passenger to put their hands out of the vehicle, Springfield Police Sergeant Rich Charboneau said.
The driver sped off while the trooper was waiting for backup to respond.
Police said they eventually found the car on N Street after a short chase. Both the driver and passenger had ran from the car into the neighborhoods nearby.
Police used four K-9 units to search the area, and Sgt. Charboneau said they quickly found one of the men, who they later identified as Anthony Enlow (also known as Anthony Hillenius).
A second suspect ran from the car onto Nighthawk Lane.
After searching the area, a K-9 unit located Cory Monpas hiding underneath a pickup truck canopy that was propped up behind a shed in the back yard of 550 W N. St.
Both men were booked at the lane county jail later that night. Enlow faces assault I charges and two counts of robbery I. Monpas was also charged with two counts of robbery I.UPDATE (9/3/13): According to a later article, the men had met to carry out a drug deal. The shooting victim's condition has been upgraded.
UPDATE (4/17/14): During the trial of the shooter, Enlow, the shooting victim testified about his fight for life, and that it was a drug deal gone bad. From an article:
The shooting victim testified that he and a friend are both state-registered medical marijuana caregivers who brought approximately $14,000 to Springfield for a meeting with Enlow and another man, who allegedly had agreed to sell them 8 pounds of marijuana.
Prosecutors allege that Enlow shot the Portland man while both were in a vehicle, and that Enlow hadn’t actually brought any marijuana with him to the meeting, intending instead to rob the eventual shooting victim and his friend.
The shooting victim testified that he initially thought Enlow “was bluffing” when he pulled out a semiautomatic pistol and demanded money. The Portland man said he called for help, but that Enlow then “shot me. There was no struggle.”
A bullet entered the victim’s body through his right side, traveled through his chest and pierced his left hand. He testified that after being shot, he got out of the vehicle and ran toward Walmart while struggling to take a breath. “I couldn’t breathe,” he said. “I was dying.”
Medics arrived at the scene a short time later and took him to a hospital, where he was initially listed in critical condition. The man testified that he remains in pain from the injuries he suffered eight months ago. The Register-Guard generally does not identify victims of alleged crimes.
Enlow and another man, Corey Lee Michael Monpas, left the parking lot in a car after the shooting. Police arrested Enlow after stopping the vehicle on N Street in Springfield.
Monpas allegedly ran from the car but was taken into custody when officers tracked him down several hours later.
Monpas, a 20-year-old Cottage Grove resident, was sentenced to nearly six years in prison after pleading guilty earlier this year to second-degree assault. He admitted to having beaten the shooting victim’s friend with a stun gun during the incident.
The stun-gun assault victim also testified Wednesday, saying that he feared his friend was going to bleed to death outside the Walmart on Olympic Street.
“He was just covered in blood,” said the 21-year-old man, who is a Benton County resident. “I didn’t want to watch my buddy die.”
UPDATE (4/25/14): Enlow was found not-guilty of attempted murder, but was found guilty of other crimes. He has received 15 years sentence for those crimes. From an article:
The shooting victim last week testified that he and a friend are both state-registered medical marijuana caregivers who brought approximately $14,000 to meet with Enlow and another man, who they said agreed to sell them 8 pounds of marijuana.
Prosecutors argued that Enlow did not intend to sell them marijuana, and instead went to the Walmart parking lot to rob the men. Enlow brought with him a bag full of blankets and pillows, not pot.
“This case is about two young men who admittedly had no jobs, no money and were interested in getting some,” Deputy District Attorney Erik Hasselman said during his closing arguments on Tuesday. “That’s the motive for this crime.”
Prosecutors also argued — and the jury disagreed — that Enlow attempted to kill the man when he allegedly shot him with a .45-caliber semiautomatic pistol.
Enlow’s attorney, Elizabeth Baker of Eugene, said Enlow and the shooting victim got into a scuffle in the backseat of a car at the Walmart over the weapon when the gun accidently went off and shot the man. Baker alleged that the victim was the one who brought the gun, not Enlow.
Baker asked the jury during her closing arguments on Tuesday to consider whether prosecutors could actually prove that Enlow wasn’t trying to defend himself in the car. Enlow and the other Cottage Grove man, Corey Lee Michael Monpas, left the parking lot in a car after the shooting.
Monpas, 20, was sentenced to nearly six years in prison after pleading guilty earlier this year to second-degree assault. He admitted to having beaten the shooting victim’s friend with a stun gun during the incident.
Walmart. Save money. Die faster.
