Deputies shoot, kill man who aimed gun.

Byline: Rebecca Nolan The Register-Guard

ELMIRA - Lane County sheriff's deputies shot and killed a 49-year-old man who aimed a loaded handgun at them late Tuesday.

The man was distraught over marital problems and had threatened to kill himself and his wife, Sheriff Russ Burger said.

Four deputies and a sergeant opened fire on James David Moore Jr. when he pointed a 9 mm semiautomatic pistol at them in front of his house at 23858 Butler Road near Elmira, Burger said.

Moore died in his own driveway. No one else was injured.

Investigators found three empty 9 mm shell casings near the body, suggesting that Moore had fired three rounds during the gunbattle, Burger said. His gun was loaded and cocked, with a round in the chamber, the sheriff said.

It is the second time this year officers in Lane County have fatally shot a person.

On June 26, a Springfield police officer shot and killed 15-year-old Jason Michael Porter, who was unarmed and driving a stolen pickup truck. The officer said he thought he saw a weapon in Porter's hand. He shot the boy once in the head.

As in the Porter case, Lane County District Attorney Doug Harcleroad determined Tuesday's shooting was justified, because the deputies believed that their lives were in danger, senior deputy district attorney Bob Lane said. Lane and a colleague visited the scene after the shooting.

"No criminal laws have been violated other than by the deceased," Lane said, adding that the case will not go to a grand jury.

All five deputies were placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of an internal review - standard practice when officers fire their weapons in the line of duty. Their names were not released.

The shooting appears to be a case of "suicide by cop," a phenomenon in which a person intentionally acts in a threatening way toward police officers in order to trigger a lethal response.

Burger played a 20-minute recording of Moore's wife of three years, Gail Diane Moore, 42, talking to dispatcher Diane Beard on Tuesday night as her husband tried to break into the house. Gail Moore had locked him outside and was hiding in the master bedroom. She was alone in the house.

Toward the end of the recording, the woman said Moore was speaking to her through their bedroom windows. He told her he loved her and asked her to tell his son he loved him.

"I'm afraid he's going to do something stupid," Gail Moore says on the tape. "He's got a gun and he's going to make them shoot him or something."

The woman had called 911 about 10:45 p.m. She said Moore pulled a gun on her after she declared their marriage over. He had threatened her physically on Sunday, she said, and she had decided to leave him.

Moore threatened to kill himself before taking his handgun and fleeing the house in a pair of boxer shorts.

Before going outside, he told his wife, "You've taken everything away from me. I have nothing to live for," the woman told the dispatcher. "He pointed the gun right at my heart."

When deputies arrived, Moore was hiding in tall trees and brush that surround the home. He yelled out that he saw the deputies as they used night-vision goggles to search for him, Burger said.

The deputies asked him to come out where they could see him. He complied, walking toward the officers with his hands in the air. The deputy with the night-vision goggles did not see a weapon in his hand at the time, Burger said.

But when deputies shined their flashlights on Moore, he assumed a shooter's stance and leveled the handgun at the deputies, Burger said. The five officers fired immediately. They carried .45-caliber pistols and .223-caliber patrol rifles.

Investigators had not determined how many shots were fired or how many times Moore was hit, Burger said. An autopsy is scheduled for this afternoon.

The deputies involved have eight to 15 years of experience. The shooting occurred toward the end of a 10-hour shift for all of them.

The Moores purchased the Butler Road home in January for about $210,900, county records show. They previously had lived in Harrisburg; James Moore had lived in the Eugene-Springfield area off and on for many years.

Moore had a drunken driving arrest in 1999 in Oregon. He completed a diversion program and the criminal charge was dismissed. Court records also revealed two divorces, in 1983 and in 1992.

He had at least one son, now 25.

Butler Road was closed until about 2:30 p.m. Wednesday while the sheriff's office and the Oregon State Police investigated the shooting. Eugene police were using an electronic mapping system to diagram the scene, Burger said.

CAPTION(S):

Deputy Steven Chambers stretches crime scene tape across Butler Road in Elmira, near the scene of the shooting.