PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A man accused of a 2017 manslaughter was found guilty by a Washington County jury on Wednesday, according to the county’s district attorney.
Chad Brandon Pitcher is guilty of first-degree manslaughter and unlawful use of a weapon after confronting the victim, Reiner Schmolling, for stealing his car – killing him on Sept. 19, 2017, officials said.
Attorneys say Pitcher and a previous defendant named Christopher Jay Stephens drove to a rural area outside North Plains armed with handguns. Pitcher used one of the guns to shoot Schmolling in the chest, causing him to die at the scene.
Pitcher left the area in the vehicle and abandoned it after running out of gas, according to the district attorney’s office. Police were able to identity Pitcher and Stephens by information found in the car.
Stephens was arrested on Sept. 28, 2017 and confessed to driving Pitcher to the crime scene and shooting one round from his own gun. Meanwhile, Pitcher was a fugitive for several weeks until he was arrested on Oct. 8, 2017 in Wilsonville after jumping from a second-story apartment balcony.
Pitcher was originally convicted in 2019, but the jury returned a non-unanimous vote on two of the original three counts, according to court documents. When the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that non-unanimous verdicts violated the Sixth Amendment, the case had to be retried.
Officials say Pitcher’s sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 1.
Stay with KOIN 6 as this story develops.
