![]() ![]() RELATED | 'Kaylee's Law' would change requirements for privately-hired campus securityĪfter the murder, authorities say Lara fled to Salem on July 25, carjacked a young woman, and kidnapped her at gunpoint. Lara, now 34 years old, pleaded guilty to Sawyer’s death in January 2018 and received a life sentence. ![]() Attorney’s Office – District of Oregon said.Īccording to court records, Edwin Lara’s violent two-day crime spree started Jwhen he brutally murdered Sawyer, a 23-year-old Bend resident. ![]() – The former campus security guard who pleaded guilty to murdering Central Oregon Community College student Kaylee Sawyer received a second life sentence in prison for kidnapping and carjacking, the U.S. Lara passed a background investigation before being hired.EUGENE, Ore. "All I can do is look into his history."īut no answers are there. "I can't look into his mind and see what might have made him snap," Bennett said. He was later hired at an hourly wage and was on track to becoming a full employee. Lara, 31, first served as a cadet with campus security while earning his associate degree in criminal justice at Central Oregon Community College, Bennett said, the head of campus public safety. "This is a reminder for people to be aware of their surroundings and follow safe practices." "There's definitely a change in the vibe," Ritchie said. Many of the tenants at Awbrey Pines apartments, where Sawyer lived, are students and have been shaken by the killing, said Kim Ritchie, a manager for the firm that owns the complex. In addition to the murder charge in Oregon, Lara is charged in California with attempted murder, kidnapping, carjacking and other offenses. He released them along Interstate 5 before being pulled over by the highway patrol. On July 26, police say Lara shot a man at a motel in that former gold-mining town, critically wounding him, and then carjacked a vehicle at a gas station with a woman and her two sons inside. In Salem, 130 miles away, Lara is accused of taking 19-year-old Aundreah Maes at gunpoint after she got off work at a clothing store and drove with her to Yreka, California. Lara's attorneys said they cannot comment, citing Brady's order. Brady, asked for the reason for the order, said she "cannot comment in any manner on any pending case, nor can any other judge." Brady has prohibited those involved in the case from talking publicly about it. Hummel indicated to The Associated Press he has evidence to support the murder charge but cannot discuss it.Ĭircuit Court Judge Alta J. Sawyer's body was later found in a canyon about 8 miles west of Redmond.ĭeschutes County District Attorney John Hummel rejects Lara's account. Ponce-Lara said after Lara broke down, he grabbed his 9 mm Glock pistol and fled. Ponce-Lara, who recently became a Bend police officer, told Redmond investigators she confronted her husband and that he broke down and told her he struck Sawyer with his patrol vehicle, killing her, and then panicked and hid the body. The next day, Lara's wife, Isabel Ponce-Lara, noticed that Lara was "acting out of the ordinary," according to a statement she made to police in their hometown of Redmond, just north of Bend. Lara, uniformed and equipped with pepper spray, handcuffs and a ballistics vest, was working that night on a shift to end at 2 a.m., James Bennett, interim director of campus public safety, said in an interview. ![]() They lived on the edge of the community college campus, which is shaded by tall ponderosas and boasts mountain views. On July 24, soon after midnight, Kaylee Sawyer went for a walk after arguing with her boyfriend. Even more distressing is that a campus safety officer was involved."Ī local newspaper, The Source Weekly, asked in a full-page article: "What prompted his alleged crime spree?" So far, there are no answers. "We always felt safe here, but when something like this happens, it hits everyone in their core. "This is such a hit on so many levels," said Aimee Metcalf, assistant director of college relations. Lara was a public safety officer at Central Oregon Community College in Bend. What many here find particularly disturbing are the accounts of an average resident going off the rails so completely. ![]()
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