The federal drug agent who hit and killed a Salem bicyclist while on duty in 2023 will not be prosecuted for the death after a federal appeals court upheld the dismissal of charges against him.

On Dec. 11, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed a ruling from January 2025 that exempted DEA agent Samuel Landis from criminal prosecution after he hit and killed Marganne Allen in a central Salem neighborhood in 2023.

Allen, 53, was a state worker on her commute home from work when Landis ran a stop sign and hit her in the intersection of Southeast Leslie and High Streets on March 28, 2023. At the time, Landis was doing surveillance of a suspected drug trafficker.

U.S. District Court Judge Michael McShane dismissed the charge of criminally negligent homicide against Landis last year, ruling that his actions were in his federal capacity and thought to be reasonable at the moment, entitling him to immunity from state prosecution, according to the dismissal order.

The Oregon Department of Justice appealed the dismissal in April, and asked for the appeals court to overturn McShane’s ruling and reinstate the negligent homicide charge against Landis.

The appeals court affirmed McShane’s decision on Dec. 11.

“The district court’s finding that Landis acted within the scope of his authority is undisputed,” the appeals court memorandum said. 

U.S. Circuit Judges Margaret McKeown, Carlos Bea and John Owens oversaw and ruled on the appeal. Typically, federal appeals cases are heard by three of the court’s judges at a time.

The judges found that McShane did not make a “clearly erroneous” ruling in finding Landis’ actions as “objectively and subjectively reasonable” and dismissing the charge against him, according to their decision.

The appeals decision cited McShane’s ruling that Landis “honestly believed he could safely run the stop sign while driving ‘with a purpose’ to catch up to the rest of his surveillance team.”

Oregon’s Department of Justice has until Jan. 24 to decide if it will ask for the appeals court to review the case again.

On the day of the crash, Landis was on a surveillance team tracking a suspected fentanyl trafficker through Salem, according to Salem Reporter’s previous coverage.

Landis ran the stop sign at the intersection at 18 miles per hour, the appeals court decision said. The cyclist, Allen, had the right of way as she rode down High Street.

Allen’s husband Mark Meleason filed two lawsuits last year over the crash – one against Landis, the DEA and the city of Salem and another against the Oregon State Police and state Department of Justice.

The DEA was working with the Salem Police Department and state police on a drug task force at the time of the crash, Salem Reporter previously reported.

Meleason’s lawsuit against the state police and justice department, filed in Marion County, was dismissed Oct. 8 after Marion County Circuit Court Judge Linsday Partridge ruled the suit proved no factual issues at the state level, no state employees were involved on the task force the day of the crash and the state wasn’t responsible for training federal agents, including Landis.

The federal lawsuit against Landis, the DEA and Salem police was put on hold in June while the appeals case unfolded. Meleason is seeking a jury trial and $2.5 million in economic damages, his complaint said.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE:

State appeals federal judge’s dismissal of charge against DEA agent in fatal cyclist collision

“A tragic accident”: Judge dismisses charge against DEA agent in fatal cyclist collision

Husband of cyclist killed in crash sues DEA agent, Salem police

Contact reporter Madeleine Moore: [email protected].

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