Salem security guard sentenced to life in prison for 2017 killing
SALEM, Ore. Oct 23 2018 — A judge has sentenced a 34-year-old Salem security guard to life in prison after he shot and killed a man in the summer of 2017, the Marion County District Attorney’s Office said Monday.
Last week, a jury found that Gregory Weston Capwell intentionally killed 25-year-old Jose Moreno in a Denny’s parking lot July 22, 2017.
Prosecutors said video from a security camera was a key piece of evidence in the case. It helped the jury unanimously find Capwell guilty of intentional murder with a firearm in less than 10 minutes.
At around 3:30 a.m. July 22, Capwell was working as an armed security guard and stopped Moreno and two other men as they tried to go inside the Denny’s at 3155 Ryan Drive in Salem. He told them they were trespassing.
An argument erupted and Capwell tried to place Moreno under citizen’s arrest. He also used a stun gun against Moreno even though he had been warned that Moreno had a pacemaker.
The three men tried to leave in their car, but Capwell yanked Moreno out and they began to fight. Capwell then shot Moreno twice in the chest with his handgun.
Capwell said he acted in self-defense, but prosecutors said the video showed otherwise.
Capwell will be eligible for parole in 25 years.
