Today a Marion County Grand Jury unanimously found that Salem Police Officer, Jesse Rios, was justified in using deadly force against Zackary Miles Pevey, 40, on the afternoon of Thursday March 8, 2018 during an encounter in a residential driveway at 5550 State Street NE in Salem.

At approximately 3:25 PM, Salem Officers attempted to contact Pevey in his Ford F-350 pickup truck in a parking lot on Silverton Road due to felony warrants for his arrest. Pevey was not compliant at that scene and instead drove away hitting a patrol car in the process. Officers pursued briefly but terminated their efforts for safety reasons when Pevey did not stop.

Soon after, officers again located Pevey and followed him into the driveway of a residence at 5550 State Street. Officer Chad Basaraba and Officer Jesse Rios parked directly behind him and exited their car to contact Pevey. Pevey failed to follow the officers' verbal commands and instead reversed his truck directly at Officer Rios. Officer Rios opened fire, hitting Pevey once. Once in custody, officers rendered immediate medical aid to Pevey before he was transported to Salem Health for treatment of his injuries. He has since been released and is currently being held without bail on his felony warrants at the Marion County Jail.

The officers were uninjured in this incident. Officer Rios has been with the Salem Police Department for nearly twenty years. He's been assigned to the gang enforcement unit since January of 2007.

The Grand Jury heard a full day of testimony from several witnesses including the involved Salem officers and the Oregon State Police detectives who led this investigation. They further reviewed video surveillance from nearby businesses, photographs and physical items from the scene as seized pursuant to a search warrant signed by the Honorable Courtland Geyer. Evidence of drug sales was located during the execution of that.

The same Grand Jury that found Officer Rios' actions to be justified also indicted Zackary Miles Pevey for Attempted Assault in the First Degree, Attempted Assault on a Public Safety Officer, Felony Eluding a Police Officer, Delivery of Methamphetamine, Delivery of Heroin, two counts of Criminal Mischief in the Second Degree, and DUII.

Pevey is scheduled for his next appearance on March 21, 2018 at 8:30 a.m. at the Marion County Court Annex located at 4000 Aumsville Highway in Salem. He is currently represented by Amanda Harmon of the Marion County Public Defender's Office.

Due to the ongoing nature of this criminal case, the DA's Office will not release any further details of the shooting or the related crimes at this time.