June 21 (UPI) — Authorities in Oregon said a man suspected of killing three people during a violent spree over the weekend is now in police custody.
Oen Evan Nicholson, 30, turned himself in to Milwaukee police early Sunday, Coos County District Attorney Paul Frasier said during a press conference later in the day.
“We’re still not totally briefed in to his circumstances of why he turned himself in and so forth, but I can tell you he did turn himself in and there wasn’t incident or trouble in taking him into custody,” he said.
Police had been hunting for Nicholson when he turned himself in, as authorities accuse him of committing a string of violent crimes starting on Friday.
Authorities accuse Nicholson of killing his father, Charles Simms Nicholson, 83, at a Mill Casino RV park, then stealing his white 2019 Dodge pickup truck, which was used in a hit-and-run, killing Anthony Oyster, 74, at the scene. Linda Oyster, 73, was transported to the hospital and was in critical condition on Sunday, Frasier said.
Frasier said they found the body of the senior Nicholson after searching the trailer, as it and the pickup truck used in the string of crimes were registered under his name.
The younger Nicholson is then accused of fatally shooting Jennifer L. Davidson, 47, at a marijuana dispensary before driving the pickup to Lane County, Ore., where authorities found the vehicle crashed. In a release, the Lane County Sheriff’s Office said the suspect was considered armed and dangerous.
Frasier told reporters without going into further details that authorities “believe he drove” the more than 2,000 miles from Lane County to Milwaukee.
However, the police department in Springfield, Ore., accused Nicholson in a release on Sunday of forcing Laura Johnson to drive him north in a black 2008 Honda CRV. They drove until reaching Milwaukee, where Nicholson was arrested, the authorities said.
“Laura is safe and unharmed and on her way back to Oregon,” it said, adding that formal charges are pending against Nicholson in connection to the abduction of Johnson.
Nicholson has so far been charged with six counts of first-degree murder for the three deaths, one count of attempted murder in the second degree, first-degree assault, and two counts of failing to help a person injured in a traffic accident, Frasier said.
North Bend Mayor Jessica Engelke, in the press conference Sunday, expressed her sympathies for those impacted by the crimes, stating the series of events has left her town “incredibly shaken.”
“This is something that you hope would never happen in your community, in the town you call home,” she said.
