Private security guard who shot man outside Lowe’s in Portland gets life in prison
Portland OR May 24 2023 On Tuesday, the man accused of shooting and killing 49-year-old Freddy Nelson in 2021 was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole.
Logan Gimble, 30, sat before a Multnomah County judge and stared at pictures of Nelson while prosecutors read emotional statements from Nelson’s family.
Earlier this month, a jury found Gimble guilty of second-degree murder, unlawful use of a weapon with a firearm, and unlawful use of mace in the second degree. Under Measure 11, he was automatically sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole for the murder charge.
“He took my best friend and partner of over 30 years, he took the father of our children and our grandson’s papa,” Nelson’s wife Karli Nelson wrote in a statement that was read aloud to the court.
Karli’s statement was one of six ready by prosecutor Amanda Nadell before Gimble was sentenced. She wrote that she will never be the same after May 29th, 2021.
“I pray that someday I will have a forgiving heart so I can move on with my life as for now I don’t know how I’ll ever learn to live with this pain,” Karli wrote. “Not one hour has passed without thoughts of my husband and many tears have been shed.”
Court documents say there was a dispute between Nelson and Cornerstone Security Group over Nelson selling wooden pallets, weeks leading up to the shooting. Even though he had an agreement with Lowes to collect and sell the store’s unwanted pallets—the security company banned him from the parking lot.
On May 29th, Gimble confronted Nelson but it escalated quickly. Gimble pepper sprayed Nelson and his wife before opening fire on Nelson with a gun he wasn’t allowed to legally carry as a security guard.
Gimble’s lawyer claimed he was acting in self-defense saying he Nelson ran his car at Gimble, but the jury saw otherwise. Earlier this month, they found Gimble guilty of second-degree murder.
“I just want to tell the Nelson family, I’m sorry for the loss that I caused and I hope with this they’ll find some closure,” Gimble said in court
Gimble’s lawyers said they plan on appealing the verdict. Even though Nelson’s family may have gotten justice, his wife wrote memories of that day will never go away.
“This tragic loss of my husband has devastated me in every way, financially, physically, and emotionally,” Karli wrote. “I’ve been forever changed and I don’t know if I’ll be the same again.”
