HILLSBORO, Ore- On March 7, 2024, a Washington County jury found David Anthony Baynes guilty of Murder in the Second Degree and Unlawful Use of a Weapon. On April 25, 2024, the defendant was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum of 25 years served for the murder conviction and five years in prison for the Felon in Possession of a Firearm conviction. These sentences will run consecutively. Senior Deputy District Attorney Allison Brown and Deputy District Attorney Christina Luedtke prosecuted the case before Judge Ricardo Menchaca. The defendant was also convicted of Felon in Possession of a Firearm by Judge Menchaca following a bench trial. The defendant is a convicted felon based on a Manslaughter conviction from 2008.
On September 18, 2022, Mr. Baynes shot and killed the victim in an unprovoked attack. At the time, the defendant was in a relationship with the victim’s ex-girlfriend and was jealous of her continued contact with the victim. Mr. Baynes was leaving the woman’s home in Forest Grove, Oregon when he saw the victim approaching the home in a minivan. He pulled his truck up next to the victim’s van and shot the victim 15 times with a handgun. Each bullet entered the victim’s body, and he died within minutes.
After fleeing the scene, Mr. Baynes ditched the firearm and drove to a rural area in Yamhill County where he hid overnight. He concealed his truck with a tarp, factory-reset his phone to avoid police detection, and slept in blackberry bushes. A deputy with the Yamhill County Sheriff’s Office located and arrested the defendant the next day. The defendant claimed that the victim had been armed and that the shooting had been in self-defense. He admitted he wasn’t allowed to own a handgun because of his status as a felon. He told detectives he knew what he did was wrong. A search of the victim and the crime scene confirmed that the victim had in fact been unarmed. The firearm used by Baynes in the shooting was later found during a search by the Washington County Search and Rescue Team.
The Washington County District Attorney’s Office wishes to thank the multiple law enforcement agencies who worked on this case, the Forest Grove Police Department, Beaverton Police Department, and the Washington County Major Crimes Team. In addition, the Yamhill County Sheriff’s Office, Newberg Police Department, and the Oregon State Police Forensic Lab all assisted with this investigation.
