District attorney says Eugene Walmart shooting was self-defense
On Sept. 5, just before 5:30 p.m., Elijah Lais shot and killed 21-year-old Javier Lagarda-Govea in the parking lot of a Walmart Supercenter near the intersection of West 11th Avenue and Commercial Street.
Lagarda-Govea was reaching for a loaded handgun tucked into his waistband while he pursued Lais and his stepson as they ran to their truck in the parking lot. Lais got his gun from his truck and pulled the trigger first.
That’s the conclusion of Lane County District Attorney Christopher Parosa’s investigation into the shooting, which involved reviewing surveillance and cell phone videos and witness accounts, which Parosa said confirmed Lais and his stepson’s recollection of what happened that day.
Parosa announced Nov. 20 the shooting was self-defense.
A few days before the shooting, on the afternoon of Sept. 2, Lais, his stepson, and his stepson’s attorney were at the Lane County Courthouse for a court date. While they were standing outside on the south side of the courthouse, two men approached in a black SUV. One of them got out and verbally accosted them, stating something along the lines of “I’m gonna blow your head off,” Parosa said in a written statement.
The day of the shooting, Lais and his stepson were inside the Walmart Supercenter when they again encountered the three men, who began to cuss at the pair and call them racial slurs.
Parosa said as Lais and his stepson were leaving the store, Lais realized the three men were following them and told his stepson to run ahead to their truck parked outside. The stepson confirmed to investigators he ran to the truck and locked himself inside. Lagarda-Govea began to run after the stepson but Lais pushed Lagarda-Govea to the ground.
Lais ran to the driver’s side of his truck and noticed Lagarda-Govea get up and reach for his waistband, pulling a loaded firearm. Lais grabbed his own firearm from the driver’s side door and shot Lagarda-Govea. After he was shot, Lagarda-Govea’s firearm fell out of his hands onto the ground. Lais kicked it away.
“Mr. Lais’ stepson also stated that Mr. Lagarda-Govea was grabbing for his firearm as he chased him toward his stepfather’s truck, and that Lais would ultimately shoot Mr. Lagarda-Govea when as close as an arm’s length apart from Mr. Lais,” Parosa said.
Lais called 911, remained on scene and was cooperative with police throughout the investigation.
The other two men who accompanied Lagarda-Govea immediately fled the scene but were later identified. Police found another loaded firearm belonging to one of the individuals in a field near the Walmart after the shooting.
In making his final decision, Parosa cited ORS 161.205, which states the use of physical force on another person that would otherwise constitute an offense is justifiable and not criminal in self-defense or in defending a third person, in defending property, in making an arrest, or in preventing an escape. He also cited ORS 161.219, which states a person is not justified in using deadly physical force unless the person reasonably believes the other person is committing or attempting to commit a felony involving the use of physical force, a burglary in a dwelling, or about to use unlawful deadly physical force against a person.