DA: No charges in shooting near Bend drive-thru

(Update: Adding surveillance video, Hummel comment)

A Medford man who fired seven shots, hitting a transient four times after the other man pulled a knife during an encounter near Bend’s Jack in the Box restaurant last month was acting in self-defense and legally justified, Deschutes County District Attorney John Hummel ruled Monday.

But the prosecutor also sharply criticized the visitor, who he said had acted foolishly and recklessly as the self-appointed “sheriff” of an adjacent motel where he was staying, rather than let police handle the loitering situation in repeated instances.

On May 14, Robert Garris, a 39-year-old Medford resident, shot Christopher Nolan, a 39-year old resident of Bend, four times, Hummel said. The shooting occurred beside a picnic table outside the Jack in the Box restaurant in northeast Bend.

Nolan is still recovering at St. Charles Bend and is expected to survive, the district attorney said.

Hummel announced that he had “determined the shooting was legally justified and will therefore not file criminal charges against Garris.”

Garris is a heavy-equipment operator who was staying at the Days Inn hotel in Bend while working on the NW 14th Street construction project.

During Garris’ extended stay at the hotel, he on multiple occasions complained to hotel staff about people on the property he did not like the looks of, Hummel said.

On some of these occasions, Garris would confront the individuals on the property, rather than reporting the situation to the police, resulting in the individuals leaving.

On May 14, Garris again did not like the looks of people on the property and reported the matter to the front desk. Then, as per his past practice of not reporting to law enforcement, Garris went outside in search of the two individuals that troubled him, Hummel said.

The DA said Garris later told police his reason for searching for the people was to obtain a good description so he could relay this description to the police.

But “his actions belied this,” the district attorney said. “When Garris spotted Nolan and his friend outside Jack in the Box (a restaurant adjacent to the Days Inn), he strode quickly and directly toward them.”

Garris approached within one foot of Nolan and the two stood face to face, the DA said. Nolan then pulled out a switchblade knife and extended the blade.

Garris then backed up, pulled out a .40 caliber Glock 22 pistol and yelled at Nolan to drop the knife. When Nolan did not drop the knife, Garris fired seven times, striking Nolan four times, Hummel said.

The police were called and responded quickly. Hummel said medical aid was timely and professionally rendered to Nolan. Garris cooperated with law enforcement by participating in a full interrogation and answering all questions posed to him. Surveillance cameras from Jack in the Box captured the incident.

Garris, during his interview with law enforcement after the shooting, described generally his impressions of the various people on the hotel property that he reported to the front desk, Hummel said. Terms he used to describe these people included:

· “Creeping around”

· “Up to no good.”

· “The element of people that lurk around here.”

· “Really shady.”

· “Don’t belong here.”

· “The Bad Guys.”

“Oregon’s self-defense law does not require individuals to retreat before using deadly force against someone who threatens them with the imminent use of deadly force,” Hummel said in his announcement. “When Nolan pulled out his knife and extended the blade, he threatened the use of imminent deadly force against Garris.”

“Therefore, under Oregon law (ORS 161.219), Garris was authorized to use deadly physical force against Nolan,” the district attorney said.

But Hummel told NewsChannel 21’s Pedro Quintana, “The reckless action he took was to quickly and aggressively stride across that parking lot, to get in the face of a stranger, to tell him his piece of mind, to tell him in essence to get off the property. What the heck did he think was going to happen?

“It’s reasonable to think that a fight would have ensued,” the prosecutor said. “And once a fight ensued, then he pulled out his gun and shot someone. And also apparently he’s not a very good shot, because he missed Nolan three times, putting our community at risk.”

Hummel concluded his news release with this statement:

“Acting lawfully is not necessarily synonymous with acting intelligently or compassionately. Robert Garris was legally justified in shooting Christopher Nolan, which is why I did not charge him with a crime. But his actions on the day of this shooting, and in the months prior, were foolish, dangerous and mean-spirited.

“Garris, in essence, anointed himself the Sheriff of the Days Inn. When he did not like the look of someone on the hotel property, he confronted them to chase them off. His descriptions of the people he did not like – ‘creepy’; ‘shady’; ‘bad guys’; ‘don’t belong here’ – provide a window into Garris’ mind and worldview.

“Invariably, the people to whom Garris affixed these labels appeared to him to be of low-income and to have a stereotypical look of people struggling to find housing. Garris seemed to think that people of low income were less worthy than he of being on the Days Inn property. As repulsive as that view is, Garris is obviously allowed to hold it.

“Every time that Garris felt someone who did not look like him should have been removed from the Days Inn property, he should have called the police. Acting as a vigilante placed our community at risk.

“Garris was a hot-head with a gun who sought out confrontations. The confrontation at the Jack in the Box resulted in Nolan being shot.

“Certainly, Nolan bears no small responsibility for how things unfolded because he pulled out a knife without justification. But Garris sought out and initiated the confrontation that ended with his firing his weapon seven times, striking Nolan four times. Thankfully, no innocent bystanders were struck by Garris’ errant shots.

“I encourage lawful gun owners to call 911 when they observe suspicious activity. If someone brings a fight to them, and they fear for their life, they may use their gun to protect themselves and others, but I hope it is as a last resort.

“When people carry a gun and thus feel emboldened to put themselves in dangerous situations that they would not otherwise put themselves in, their actions make our community less safe. I encourage concealed carry permit holders to consider and reflect upon how Robert Garris initiated this confrontation and the risk it caused to innocent bystanders.”