PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The man who pulled the trigger and killed Clark County Detective Jeremy Brown as he sat in his car in July 2021 was convicted of 1st-degree murder on Tuesday.
Guillermo Raya-Leon was found guilty of killing the detective who was on a surveillance mission at the The Pointe Apartments in Vancouver. The jury in the trial received instructions from the judge on Monday and deliberated until early Tuesday afternoon until they reached the verdict.
Raya Leon was also convicted on charges of trafficking in stolen property, burglary, theft of a motor vehicle and two counts of having a stolen gun. The jury also found in favor of the aggravating factor that Raya Leon knew Brown was a law enforcement officer, along with a firearm enhancement on four of the counts.
Aggravated murder carries a mandatory minimum sentence of life in prison. Raya Leon’s sentencing was set for early October.
Guillermo Raya-Leon was one of 4 people charged in connection with Detective Brown’s murder. Two of the others are already in prison and a trial for the fourth is set to begin in about 2 weeks.
- Abran Raya-Leon was convicted by a jury in August 2023 on 3 charges. He was sentenced to 27 years in prison with 3 years probation.
- Lani Kraabell pleaded guilty in June 2022 and was sentenced to 6 years in prison with 18 months probation.
- Misty Raya is set to go to trial on October 9.
KOIN 6 News will have more information as it develops.
THE CASE
Detective Jeremy Brown was shot around 7 p.m. July 23, 2021 at The Pointe Apartments in east Vancouver. Detectives were watching an apartment associated with Lani Kraabell, according to court documents obtained by KOIN 6 News. The law enforcement officials were watching two people in particular – Misty Raya and Abran Raya Leon, also known as Junior, and Guillermo Raya.
When Kraabell drove into the complex in a silver Toyota SUV, Brown was sitting in a jeep nearby.
Investigators heard what they thought were gunshots in the area and spotted the same silver Toyota SUV fleeing the scene with two men inside. Those two people were believed to be Guillermo Raya and Abran Raya, including one woman they think was Misty.
Investigators then followed the Toyota out of the complex.
Previous KOIN Coverage: The death of Clark County Detective Jeremy Brown
In the meantime, apartment complex residents around that time saw that Brown had been shot in the chest, reportedly while sitting in his vehicle.
Misty Raya later said there were words exchanged and then gunshots. She said Guillermo Raya came back carrying a large, silver revolver and allegedly told them, “He shot me first.”
A manhunt immediately began for 3 people. Two of them — Abran Raya-Leon and Misty M. Raya — were taken into custody about 6 hours later.
Guillermo Raya-Leon was arrested about 2 days later in Salem by the U.S. Marshals Service Pacific Northwest Violent Offender task force and the Salem Police Department.
On July 30, 2021, Vancouver police said, “It appears that Detective Sergeant Brown used force, and although no death, substantial bodily harm or great bodily harm occurred, the attempt was made.”
Then in September 2021, Lani Kraabell was arrested for allegedly selling stolen guns connected to the undercover operation Brown was working the night he was killed. Court documents say the weapon used to shoot Brown was one of the stolen guns. She was charged with murder and 4 counts of possessing a stolen gun.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
