Suspect in armed robbery that led to officer-involved shooting makes his first appearance in court
The Clark County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) deputy who fired his rifle in Saturday’s officer-involved shooting that resulted in the death of Vancouver Police Department officer Donald Sahota has been identified as Jonathan Feller.
Feller has been employed with the Clark County Sheriff’s Office since 2018. Deputy Feller served as a law enforcement officer in South Dakota for several years before being hired by the Clark County Sheriff’s Office.
Following this event, Deputy Feller was immediately placed on critical incident leave which is a routine practice after any use of force incident resulting in serious bodily injury or death of another.
The Lower Columbia Major Crimes Team confirmed that in October 2020 Deputy Feller was one of three deputies involved in a use of force incident in Hazel Dell that resulted in the death of Camas resident Kevin Peterson Jr. That investigation was reviewed by the Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. The review determined the officers in that incident “acted lawfully.’’
Saturday’s incident remains under active investigation and further updates will be released as necessary to maintain transparency throughout the investigation.
On Saturday (Jan. 29) at about 8:14 p.m., an armed robbery was reported at the Chevron Station located at 9810 NE 117th Avenue in Vancouver. A lone male suspect pointed a pistol at the store clerk and demanded money. The suspect was given several hundred dollars in cash before fleeing in a Mercedes passenger car that was reported stolen from Yakima, Washington. The suspect was pursued by law enforcement by vehicle then on foot. As the suspect was attempting to avoid apprehension he approached a private residence in the Battle Ground area occupied by Sahota and his wife.
While at Sahota’s front door, the suspect claimed he had been involved in a collision and asked for their assistance. Officer Sahota’s wife called 9-1-1 emergency dispatch and soon discovered it was probable the male at their front door was the armed robbery and eluding suspect who fled from police.
Over the next several minutes, Sahota engaged in an armed physical fight with the suspect in front of his home where Sahota lost possession of his firearm, was stabbed multiple times by the suspect during the fight then was able to rearm himself and attempted to re-engage the robbery suspect who had forced his way into Sahota’s residence that was occupied by his wife. These events occurred simultaneously as a Clark County deputy and at least two additional law enforcement officers arrived. Feller fired a rifle at the scene striking the off-duty officer.
The suspect was apprehended on site and identified as 20-year-old Julio Cesar Segura from Yakima. The series of events leading up to and including the use of force by Feller established probable cause to arrest Segura for several felony offenses including: Attempted 1st Degree Murder, 1st Degree Robbery, 1st Degree Burglary, 3rd Degree Assault, Possession of a Stolen Vehicle and Attempting to Elude a Police Vehicle.
Segura is currently housed in the Clark County Jail. His bail is set at $5,000,000.
On Tuesday (Feb. 1), the Clark County Medical Examiner’s Office performed a forensic examination of Sahota.
The purpose of the forensic examination was to determine the cause and manner of Sahota’s death. At the conclusion of the examination, the medical examiner determined Sahota’s death was caused by gunshot wounds of the torso and the manner of death is homicide. Homicide is a term simply meaning the death of one person was caused by another person and it does not insinuate the death was the result of a criminal act.
Information provided by the Kelso Police Department.
Also read:
Off duty Vancouver Police officer killed
Additional details of officer-involved shooting provided
