HILLSBORO, Ore.- On December 21, 2021, Jarrod Deferrari pleaded guilty to first-degree robbery with a firearm, unlawful use of a weapon with a firearm, and attempted first-degree burglary. Washington County Circuit Court Judge Andrew Erwin then sentenced the defendant to 90 months in prison. Senior Deputy District Attorney Andrew Freeman prosecuted the case against the defendant.
The defendant was arrested after a riot in downtown Portland, Oregon on the night of November 4, 2020, in which it is alleged the defendant smashed the windows of multiple buildings, including the St. Andre Bessette Catholic church off of West Burnside Street. After being charged with riot and first-degree criminal mischief, the defendant was released from Multnomah County custody the next day.
On May 19, 2021, while on release for the riot case, the defendant robbed a convenience store near Jesuit High School in Beaverton, Oregon. The defendant entered the store masked and wearing black from head to toe, leapt over the counter with a pistol in hand, and aimed the gun in the clerk’s face while demanding the victim open the cash drawer. The incident was captured on surveillance cameras, but the defendant fled the scene. The crime went unsolved for weeks as the assigned investigators continued efforts to identify the robber.
Meanwhile, the defendant’s squatting in a nearby vacant home came to the attention of WCSO patrol deputies. On May 21, 2021, fire crews responded to a report of smoke from the home only to withdraw after encountering the defendant armed with a gun. On May 29, PPB officers arrested the defendant as he rode a TriMet bus from Beaverton to Portland while armed with a 12-gauge shotgun and a pistol. At that time, he was charged with weapons offenses in Multnomah County and also arrested for the incident on May 21. On June 3 the defendant was again arrested after deputies spotted Deferrari returning to the vacant residence. Finally, on June 8, deputies found the defendant inside the vacant home again and arrested Deferrari for first-degree burglary. The defendant spray-painted Antifa graffiti inside the home and told deputies that despite previous arrests, the defendant could use the house.
WCSO Detectives then connected the defendant to the 7-11 robbery. By then the defendant was well known to WCSO patrol staff and a sergeant recognized the defendant in surveillance images circulated in a bulletin about the robbery. Investigators were then able to match various items to the robbery, including items found in the vacant house and the pistol seized by PPB on May 29.
The Washington County District Attorney’s Office wishes to acknowledge the work of the WCSO and the Portland Police Bureau in these investigations, and also recognizes the lasting effects that violent crimes have on their victims and the community. The defendant will serve a 90-month sentence in the Department of Corrections for crimes committed in Washington County without the possibility of time reductions or early release. Before arriving at DOC the defendant will be transferred to the custody of Multnomah County to face prosecution on the riot and weapons charges.
