A Marion County Circuit Court judge on Tuesday sentenced a Salem man to 15 years in prison for shooting at occupied police vehicles in April during a rampage through Marion County.
Andrew E. Kjostad, 34, pleaded guilty on Monday to three counts of attempted aggravated murder and possessing a firearm as a felon, according to his plea petition.
Police said at the time that Kjostad fired shots throughout the Salem area the night of April 30, twice shooting at officers. He then led police on a morning SWAT team search that ended with one officer shooting him in an east Salem business district.
Judge Lindsay Partridge also sentenced Kjostad to three years of post-prison supervision, court records showed.
As part of Kjostad’s plea deal, prosecutors dismissed four counts of unlawful use of a weapon, attempting to elude police and failure to perform duties of a driver when property is damaged.
The Oregon State Police in a statement at the time gave the following account of the shootings and the pursuit that resulted in police shooting Kjostad.
Around 5 p.m. on April 30, the Woodburn Police Department responded to a report of shots fired on Young Street in downtown Woodburn. A traffic camera captured a man driving a white SUV in that area at the time.
Then, at 7:38 p.m., a Marion County Sheriff’s Office sergeant was patrolling Northeast Lancaster Drive in Salem when a man shot at his car. The sergeant stopped to inspect the car and saw an SUV matching one in the earlier shooting fleeing south.
About a minute later, two Salem Police Department officers were patrolling Northeast Silverton Road when they heard multiple popping noises. A traffic camera captured a driver of the same vehicle shooting toward the officers, and a witness reported seeing the man shoot at least twice from the driver’s seat.
A Salem police SWAT team attempted to arrest Kjostad around 5:48 a.m. May 1 after spotting him walking along Northeast Fisher Road, near Northeast Market Street.
Kjostad tried to flee and drew a gun, the district attorney’s office said. Salem police Cpl. Adam Waite shot Kjostad once.
A Marion County grand jury found Waite was justified in shooting and injuring Kjostad.
No officers were harmed during the shootings or while arresting Kjostad.
Kjostad has convictions in Oregon dating back to 2009, including unauthorized use of a vehicle, failure to report as a sex offender and possession of a burglary tool or theft device.
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Contact reporter Ardeshir Tabrizian: [email protected] or 503-929-3053.
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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.
