A cannabis store employee has been charged with two counts of second-degree murder after turning himself in following a deadly shooting at La Mota in North Portland, according to news outlet KGW. Jason Steiner, a Gresham resident and employee of the cannabis retailer, surrendered to detectives on Wednesday. Steiner pleaded not guilty to the charges and filed a notice for self-defense the next day, according to KPTV. An Oregon Live report stated that police indicated Steiner was working at the dispensary when the incident took place.
The incident occurred on Oct. 3 when police responded to reports of a shooting near North St. Louis Avenue and New York Avenue in the St. Johns neighborhood. Upon arrival, officers discovered two individuals, 18-year-old King Lawrence and 20-year-old Tahir Burley, dead at the scene.
According to investigators, the shooting took place during an attempted armed robbery involving three suspects. Portland police are continuing their search for the third suspect, and have encouraged anyone with knowledge of the incident to come forward.
Photos from inside the store shared by KGW, taken after the robbery, show extensive damage, including shattered glass, broken display cases, and a back pick-up window. A sign near the scene noted that the store had recently started closing earlier due to a rise in robberies, with the shooting occurring just 30 minutes after the store closed its doors.
Dispensaries like La Mota are frequent targets for robberies largely due to the substantial amounts of cash they are forced to keep on-site. This vulnerability stems from the federal government’s ongoing inaction in providing cannabis businesses with access to basic financial services, such as credit card processing and banking.
Despite the legalization of cannabis in many states, federal restrictions prevent these businesses from accessing traditional banking systems, leaving them reliant on cash transactions and making them prime targets for crime. Calls for federal reform continue, as the cannabis industry faces significant risks in the absence of such protections.
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