Home News Local News Shooting on Adams leaves one dead

Shooting on Adams leaves one dead

Written by Bill Rautenstrauch and Ted Kramer, The Observer September 08, 2008 02:21 pm

Police quickly cordoned off the area around Balm and Adams streets Saturday night after a man was shot on the sidewalk in front of Cinco De Mayo restaurant. The Observer/TED KRAMER

An 18-year-old La Grande youth has been charged with murder in the Saturday night shooting of Jed A. Henderson, 47, of La Grande.Henderson suffered multiple wounds in the shooting, which was reported at 9:37 p.m. near the Cinco De Mayo restaurant at the corner of Adams Avenue and Balm Street.

He was transported by ambulance to Grande Ronde Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Union County District Attorney Tim Thompson said this morning that Lavar N. Howard was arrested Sunday evening by the Union County Major Crimes Team.

Howard was taken into custody at 1601 Seventh St., Apartment 4, following an investigation that included interviews with witnesses, and execution of a search warrant at the Seventh Street apartment.

Police responding to the shooting Saturday night quickly sealed off La Grande’s main street, Adams Avenue, between Balm and Willow streets, after Henderson was found laying on the sidewalk in front of Cinco De Mayo.

“I heard what sounded like a backfire,’’ said a woman in the neighborhood who declined to give her name. “Then I heard a scream, like someone in agony. I thought, holy sh**, this is real.”

The woman said she heard two gunshots.

Emergency crews were quick to arrive, but word on the street soon after the shooting was that the victim didn’t appear like he would live. A pool of blood was noticeable on the sidewalk as police conducted their investigation.

La Grande Police Sgt. Scott Franks talks to people outside the Cinco De Mayo restaurant Saturday night at about 10:30 p.m. A La Grande man, Jed Henderson, 47, had been shot dead on the sidewalk just a few feet from the restaurant at about 9:37 p.m. Saturday. Observer photos/TED KRAMER

Aleck Baum and Levi Edvalson were among the first people on the scene after the shooting. They saw the victim and approached him.

Edvalson said he approached the victim and asked, “Are you OK?’’

He said he checked the victim’s pulse, which he said was weak, and told him to stay calm.

Then emergency crews arrived. Neither Edvalson nor Baum knew Saturday night if the victim survived.

Baum said the emergency crew worked on the victim for a short time before he was transported to the hospital.

“We were among the first bystanders,’’ said Baum, who pulled his pickup over right in front of the restaurant, a few feet from where the victim was found on the sidewalk.

Baum said that he thought there might be some people in the area who might have “seen the whole thing.’’

About that time police asked Edvalson and Baum to step inside the police crime scene tape. Soon after, they and the others who were standing outside the restaurant were escorted in the restaurant.

Thompson said Howard is expected to be arraigned today in Union County Circuit Court. The district attorney said Howard also is charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Investigation of the incident continues. Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to contact the La Grande Police Department.

The Union County Major Crimes Team includes members of the La Grande Police Department, the Oregon State Police, the Union County Sheriff’s Office, the Elgin Police Department, and the Union County District Attorney’s Office.

Thompson said the team extends its appreciation to the La Grande Fire Department, the Union County Corrections Department and witnesses and individuals who provided information in the course of the investigation.