An Oregon man received a 34-year prison sentence this week. He had admitted to shooting a man who threw a sandwich at his car and then attempted to murder the sole witness of the crime.
Jacob Fitzgerald, aged 24, confessed to charges of manslaughter, attempted first-degree murder, first- and second-degree assault, burglary, and robbery across three different incidents. These cases included the killing of his acquaintance, Otis Abner, on August 6, 2022, as reported by the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office.
As per the DA’s office, an argument erupted between Fitzgerald, his then-girlfriend, and Abner while they were in a car. Fitzgerald stopped the vehicle, instructed Abner to exit, and began to drive away. However, when Abner tossed a sandwich that hit Fitzgerald’s car, he halted the car and fatally shot his friend in response.
Then he drove away and burned the vehicle.
Police were called to the scene and found seven empty shell casings and collected surveillance footage from several businesses.
It’s not clear, however, why Fitzgerald was free 18 months later, on February 11, 2024, when he went to his now-ex-girlfriend’s home, where she was living with her new boyfriend, and fired multiple shots at the trailer, striking her in the face and the arm.
“He’s a dangerous man who left a trail of destruction over the last few years. This is an unusually high sentence for a plea agreement but is just given the circumstances,” Multnomah County Deputy District Attorney Andrew MacMillan said.
Two days prior to that attack, The Oregonian said, the girlfriend, identified as Ryan Smith, called police and said that Fitzgerald was hunting her. Then, on the 11th, Fitzgerald and his sister Joanna came to the trailer where she lived and forced the door open while Smith desperately called 911. Fitzgerald opened fire and again fled with his sister.
Smith was taken to a hospital and survived her injuries. Fitzgerald and his sister were arrested more than a month after the incident.
Joanna Fitzgerald was charged with attempted murder, unlawful use of a weapon, menacing, and burglary and is set to appear in court this week.
According to the Oregonian, the guilty plea includes an armed robbery that took place before Jacob Fitzgerald’s March 18, 2024, arrest and a hit-and run in 2021.
