UPDATE: Samuel Caster-Winegeart was employed at Willamette University as a campus safety officer until the day after his arrest, according to university spokeswoman Jennifer Johnson.
Caster-Winegeart was employed at Willamette from March 31, 2022 to Jan. 4, 2023. He was not on duty at the time of the incident, Johnson said.
She declined to say why Caster-Winegeart left the position and under what capacity, stating the university does not comment on personnel matters.
Original story below:
Police say a man shot at, punched and yelled a racial slur at another man following a minor crash in northeast Salem on Tuesday.
Prosecutors charged Samuel B. Caster-Winegeart, 25, with two counts of first-degree bias crime, unlawful use of a weapon and fourth-degree assault on Wednesday in Marion County Circuit Court, according to court records.
At 4:40 p.m. on Tuesday, police responded to a report of a crash at the intersection of Northeast Lancaster Drive and Northeast Market Street, the Salem Police Department said in a statement Wednesday.
Officers learned that a man driving a crossover sedan shot at a mid-size SUV which he believed struck his vehicle. According to the statement, the man driving the SUV was pulling over to the side of the road when the driver of the sedan, who police identified as Caster-Winegeart, approached the SUV and yelled a racist slur at the driver, who is Black.
Police said Caster-Winegeart, who is white, then punched through a partly open window of the SUV, striking the driver in the face.
The victim, 55, was not struck by gunfire but was transported to Salem Hospital “for treatment of injuries related to the physical assault,” the department said in its statement.
Salem police arrested Caster-Winegeart, and booked him into Marion County Jail.
Contact reporter Ardeshir Tabrizian: [email protected] or 503-929-3053.
JUST THE FACTS, FOR SALEM – We report on your community with care and depth, fairness and accuracy. Get local news that matters to you. Subscribe to Salem Reporter. Click I want to subscribe!
Ardeshir Tabrizian has covered criminal justice and housing for Salem Reporter since September 2021. As an Oregon native, his award-winning watchdog journalism has traversed the state. He has done reporting for The Oregonian, Eugene Weekly and Malheur Enterprise.
