In Multnomah County, Oregon, a cannabis store employee, Jason Robert Steiner, 34, is facing charges for the fatal shooting of two alleged robbers. Steiner’s attorney entered a plea of not guilty on his behalf during a court hearing on Thursday. Steiner, an employee at the regional cannabis dispensary chain La Mota, was reportedly the only staff member present at the location on the night of October 3.
According to prosecutors, Steiner heard a noise while in a backroom and emerged to find three individuals pointing guns at him. The alleged robbers allowed him to leave, but Steiner feared they would pursue him based on their comments. He claimed to have retrieved a gun from his backpack once outside and waited at the door in anticipation of being followed. He left his car keys inside the building, expressing concern to officers that the robbers might steal his car and pursue him.
Steiner alleged that the robbers did not follow him outside. He approached the drive-through window and, believing one of the individuals inside was armed, he decided to open fire until he ran out of ammunition. Steiner was the one to call 911 after the incident. Upon arrival, police found 18-year-old King Lawrence dead at the scene. Tahir Burley, 20, was struggling to breathe and later died at the scene. A third individual, seen on surveillance footage, had already fled the scene.
Steiner is facing two counts of second-degree murder and one count of attempted murder. Authorities argue that Steiner had the opportunity to leave the scene but chose not to. They noted that the alleged robbers were inside the building, the door was closed, and Steiner was a significant distance away from the door and around a corner.
Surveillance footage largely corroborates Steiner’s account, but investigators claim it also shows that he opened fire through the drive-through window almost immediately. They assert that none of the three individuals inside had a gun drawn when he began shooting. Only Burley reportedly drew a weapon, and that was after Steiner had shot him.
Investigators found 13 shell casings at the scene. Steiner identified himself as the shooter when law enforcement arrived and handed over both the weapon and an empty magazine. When asked why the semiautomatic weapon lacked a serial number, Steiner claimed to have made it himself.
Steiner is currently serving three years of probation for a December 15, 2021, incident where he crashed his pickup truck into a truck owned by a manager who had fired him from another dispensary. He then ran a red light and collided with an unmarked sheriff’s patrol car before being apprehended. Steiner was employed at NW Compassion recreational and medical dispensary for a few weeks before being accused of theft from the register. He was not charged with theft but pleaded guilty on May 22, 2023, to charges including recklessly endangering another person.