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The Eagle/David Heldreth
John Day Police
Officer Kevin Miller takes notes as he talks on the phone at the scene of the
shooting. |
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The Eagle/David Heldreth
Miller talks to
people at the
scene. |
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Shooting in John
Day
Local
man, 25, held in Grant County Jail
By David Heldreth and Scotta
Callister
Blue Mountain Eagle
JOHN DAY - A John Day man was shot
to death at his home Saturday morning, and another man is lodged in the Grant
County Jail, charged with murder.
The shooting occurred Saturday, Aug.
16, at 161 N.E. Elm Street in John Day.
The 9-1-1 dispatch center
received a call at 11:37 a.m., reporting shots fired.
Police and
emergency medical personnel arrived about 11:44 a.m. and found Jose Ceja Medina,
32, dead from multiple gunshot wounds. His body was in the yard of his trailer
home at 161 N.E. Elm St.
Neighbors said they saw two people leave the
scene in a pickup truck after the shooting. Minutes later, John Day Police Chief
Rich Tirico and Officer Damon Rand located the truck and arrested Jesse Lyn
Bratcher, 25, of John Day.
Bratcher faces a murder charge in connection
with the shooting death.
A 19-year-old woman in the vehicle was detained
but later released without charges.
Neighbors told police they heard a
heated argument before the gunshots rang out.
According to Tirico,
Bratcher and his girlfriend went to Medina's home in the late morning on
Saturday. During a confrontation, Medina was shot in the front yard of his home.
Bratcher was arraigned on one count of murder Tuesday morning at Grant
County Circuit Court in Canyon City. The proceedings were conducted by
videoconference, with Bratcher participating from a room at the jail. Judge W.D.
Cramer Jr. and the defense attorney, Markku Sario, participated from Burns,
where both were working on other matters, and District Attorney Ryan Joslin
appeared from Portland.
Bratcher did not enter a plea, but the case is
scheduled for a status check Sept. 4. No bail was set. The judge said the
attorneys could raise that issue in the future, but for now Bratcher remains in
the Grant County Jail.
The shooting remains under investigation, police
said Tuesday.
Last weekend, Oregon State Police troopers from the John
Day, Baker City and Ontario responded to assist in the investigation along with
Oregon State Police Crime Lab Forensic Division personnel from Ontario. Grant
County Sheriffs Deputies also assisted with the investigation.
Police
obtained search warrants for the Elm Street property and for a vehicle and a
second residence.
Relatives and friends of both families were shaken by
the shooting. Jose Nava, a friend, said the Ceja Medina family is making plans
for a memorial service, but the details were not yet known.
"Everyone is
shocked," Nava said. "I'm personally hurt. He was a friend of mine. His mom is
doing OK, but his dad is taking it really hard."
Friends of the family
also were upset that that Medina's body was kept at the scene for so
long.
"We were asking the police why it was taking forever, and they said
they were waiting on a judge to sign a paper," Nava said. "He was there until
like 4 a.m. The body was laying there a good 20 hours."
Friends kept
vigil at the house with Medina's relatives, waiting for the body to be
removed.
"All of us were going back and forth between our homes and the
scene," Nava said. "We all have families and kids so we couldn't stay there
constantly, but someone was always there. I left the scene at like 2 a.m. and he
was still there."
Tirico said the body was covered, but officials
couldn't remove it while the scene was being investigated.
"We're
obligated to do the best job that we can - for the family, and for the victim -
to ensure justice," he said.
Sgt. Gordon Larson of the Oregon State
Police said that the time frame is not unusual for a homicide investigation, as
the authorities seek to provide a thorough investigation.
That time
factor may not be as noticeable in other cases, such as when a body is inside a
building or when a shooting victim is taken to a hospital and dies
there.
"The difference here is that the body was outside," Larson said.
He said officials were aware that people were upset, but that the investigation
process was critical.
"Our hearts go out to the family, but we have an
obligation to obtain search warrants, affidavits ... and there's a review
process," he said.
Authorities couldn't move the body without first
getting paperwork signed by a judge. Police also asked for help from the crime
lab and other resources out of the area, and those took time to reach John Day,
Larson said.
However, even if all those resources were based right in
town, it still would take hours to process the scene and be able to move the
body, Larson said.
"We have to do a thorough, and albeit sometimes
lengthy, investigation first," he said.
Tirico said police are "using
every resource available to ensure that things are done correctly."
Nava
said he had been told that delay is not uncommon, but he thinks that's
wrong.
"I think they need to get more people to help do something if this
kind of thing happens again. If it happens to someone else they need to hurry up
and pick up the body," he said. "It's ridiculous. We shouldn't have to call
someone from out of town to do this kind of stuff. We should take care of it in
town."
Meanwhile, they are remembering Medina, whom Nava called a
responsible guy.
"He was a good guy. If you needed help and he could
help you, he did it," Nava said. "I was just with him Friday night, talking. He
was separated from his wife, but he was taking care of his kids."
Medina
worked in construction for Oregon Telephone Corporation, according to manager
DeeDee Kluser.
Bratcher, who formerly worked at Chester's Thriftway, is a
military veteran. In July, he was one of more than 50 veterans to receive
Veterans of Oregon Honorable Service Medals at a ceremony in John Day's Memorial
Park.
Bratcher's mother, Marly Roche, said he served in the Army National
Guard for eight years and spent time in Iraq.
"It's very hard on the
family. I looked on the computer and the websites and see my son on there for
murder and I feel horrible. My heart goes out to Mr. Medina's family. I can't
imagine what his family is going through. It's such a small county which makes
it really hard on the family. I have a niece in Prairie City. It was a verry
horrible shock when I found out Saturday night."
Bratcher's
step-grandfather, David Baughman, said he had visited him in jail over the
weekend.
"He wasn't talking a whole lot about the ordeal," Baughman said.
Baughman recalled that Bratcher "was quiet when he got back from
Iraq."
"What isn't said is the worst part," Baughman added. "If a man or
woman talks about things they seem to not have as many problems. If they're
quiet they just keep it bottle up inside of them."
John Day has not had a
homicide since 1992, according to police. |
