Good Guy With a Gun #47: McMinnville, OR

Original Incident: December 19, 2023. A man with a large knife decided that carjacking was the best way to return to the house of the relatives that had just kicked him out.

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Today’s summary was written by Mrs. Good Guy with a Gun . Online.

This is another case in which a gun stopped a criminal without being fired.

Just before 11:30 in the morning in a Walmart parking lot in McMinnville, Oregon, 22-year-old Aaron Quiocho approached a man loading items into his car, brandished a large knife (it was quite a knife, judging from the photo the McMinnville Police Department posted on Facebook), and demanded the man’s car keys.

This photo of the knife — more like a short-barreled machete — comes courtesy of the McMinnville PD’s Facebook post.

The victim, however, had a handgun holstered on his hip, so he drew when threatened and Quiocho ran away.

It turns out that Quiocho made the case pretty easy for police once they arrived on the scene. The would-be carjacker had left luggage behind tagged with his name, which allowed police to quickly get a photograph of him — and then spot him standing outside a Panda Express across the street.

He was then taken into custody and admitted his involvement in the attempted carjacking. Video surveillance also led police to a piece of clothing he had discarded as he fled (so that he would be harder to recognize as he stood across the street?) AND the knife, which was found by someone in the parking lot.

Quiocho explained that a “family member” had dropped him and his labeled luggage off in McMinnville because “they didn’t want him in their house in Beaverton anymore,” according to KPTV. His grand plan was to use the very large knife to take the victim’s car and then... use the stolen car to drive back to his family member’s house.

They would no doubt have been thrilled to see him.

Just because this particular criminal wasn’t very smart about avoiding capture doesn’t mean he wasn’t dangerous. He did, after all, have a large knife and was ready to use it — at a minimum to threaten someone in order to steal a car, and at worst, to do actual physical harm.

The good guy with a gun used his gun as a counter-threat that protected not only himself, but most likely the family members who were spared coping with Quiocho showing back up that day.

Update from the victim

Bruce Smith posted the following on the PD’s Facebook post. It is completely unedited.

I was the victim of this crime. For anyone interested in an update: On 12/09/24, the Yamhill District Attorney through DDA Greg Jones, entered into a pea deal with the defendant, Quiocho, Aaron Jaecob Farjardo, and his attorney. I objected, but DDA Jones felt it was a fair deal due to the perpetrator’s young age, no prior record, and mental health concerns.

DDA Jones allowed the defendant to plead guilty to Attempted Robbery in the First Degree (It was Robbery in the First Degree) and Menacing a misdemeanor. He received a 364-day sentence on the Menacing with time served and was released from jail that same day 12/09/24. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison for the Robbery but was not put in prison. Instead, he received 5 years probation. All of the other charges were dismissed. So much for community safety and justice. This is a perfect example of instead of sentencing dangerous criminal like this to prison to protect the public, the left wants more gun control. It was my gun that saved my wife and me. My wife was standing immediately behind me when this crime occurred. She still suffers with PTSD as a result and continues to be fearful when she leave our home.

Sources

The McMinnville PD’s Facebook post contains all of the details you need. Everything else is just a summary of that.

KPTV Fox 12, Medford Alert News, and That Oregon Life all carried the story.

In the 2A community, Brandon Curtis at Concealed Nation covered it as well.

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