Yakima man sentenced to 29 years in prison for death of police officer at BG home

Cade Barker / [email protected]

After a three-week trial, a 23-year-old Yakima man has been sentenced to 29 years in prison for the 2022 murder of Vancouver Police Officer Donald Sahota at Sahota's home in Battle Ground.

Julio Segura, 23, of Yakima, was convicted of first-degree murder, second-degree murder, first-degree robbery, possession of a stolen vehicle and attempting to elude law enforcement .

“Today’s 29-year sentence for the man accused of murdering Constable Donald Sahota provides the family and friends Don left behind with an opportunity to begin to heal from an excruciating two and a half years,” Vancouver Police Chief Jeff Mori said in a statement. “The Sahota family will remain in our prayers, and the memory of Don Sahota and his contributions to the law enforcement profession, his community and the Vancouver Police Department will live on.”

A Clark County Superior Court jury convicted Segura of the crimes committed last month but acquitted him of charges of attempted murder, attempted kidnapping and first-degree burglary.

Segura was at the Sahota Battle Ground residence after a robbery turned into a high-speed chase and manhunt that began on State Road 503 near Brush Prairie, investigators said in a 2022 report.

The events leading up to Sahota’s murder on Jan. 29, 2022, began when an employee at the Chevron gas station at Northeast 117th Avenue and Northeast 99th Street called to report that he had just been robbed. About 10 minutes later, a deputy spotted the suspect vehicle heading north on Interstate 205 near Padden Parkway. The vehicle was traveling about 100 mph, according to radio traffic.

Segura merged onto Interstate 5 and took the Northeast 179th Street exit onto Northeast 10th Avenue, turning east onto State Route 502, according to the 2022 survey.

Segura avoided the deployed spike strips, crossed into an oncoming lane and crashed, according to the investigation. He then fled on foot in the area of ​​Northeast 219th Street and Northeast 79th Court. Law enforcement set up a containment zone and aircraft from the sheriff's office, and Portland police were deployed.

Responding officers quickly received an updated description of Segura, who was described as a “darker-skinned white male” with shaggy hair, who was wearing a long-sleeved white shirt with black underwear, a hat, a mask and glasses.

Around the same time, aerial surveillance identified Segura near Sahota's residence. Infrared video showed Segura walking up to the front porch of the home. Minutes later, emergency services received a 911 call about an unknown man at a residence in the area.

The caller, Sahota's wife, was in another part of the house when the call began, she told 911. She said Sahota was an off-duty police officer and was armed.

Aerial footage shows Segura walking away from the front door as Sahota is heard describing Segura as a Latino man on the call. Sahota’s wife then told 911 that her husband and Segura were in an “altercation.” Aerial footage showed Sahota holding Segura to the ground and the two struggling. Sahota’s gun fell during the struggle.

Aerial surveillance shows the fight ended when Segura ran out the door and then Clark County Sheriff's Office Deputy Jonathan Feller's vehicle arrived. Sahota appears to pick up the gun he dropped, then attack Segura, trying to break down the door, according to the investigation. Feller is seen getting out of his vehicle, aiming and shooting four times in a matter of seconds. Three of the shots hit Sahota and one hit the house. Several other officers then arrived on scene.

The footage shows that Feller was the first to arrive at Sahota's home on the battlefield as Sahota and Segura struggled in the driveway.

In a 2022 interview during the investigation, Feller recounted his thoughts and actions during the shooting. When he arrived, he said he knew there had been a fight and that a gun had been dropped.

“I just saw someone pick it up and run towards the house,” Feller told investigators, noting that the person matched the last description of the suspect he was given.

Feller ordered Sahota, who he believed to be the suspect, to get on the ground, which was heard by a witness officer, according to the investigation. Feller said he thought Sahota was going to kill the people in the residence and shot him to end the threat.

About a minute after Sahota was shot, Segura was seen exiting the front door with his hands in the air before getting on the ground. The police then intervened to arrest Segura and help Sahota. Sahota's wife exited through the garage and was escorted by police, according to aerial footage.

Segura told investigators he stabbed Sahota three times with a knife. At the time, in 2022, Segura told investigators he believed his actions killed Sahota.

Sahota's autopsy showed he had been stabbed in the upper torso and abdomen, “causing great bodily injury.” The Clark County medical examiner ultimately concluded that the three gunshots killed Sahota.

Segura told investigators that the weapon he used to rob the store was an airsoft gun, which was later found in the woods near the scene.

Feller's quick actions were determined not to have violated the agency's use-of-force policy, records show. The Clark County District Attorney's Office has not charged Feller in Sahota's death.

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This report included information previously reported by The Reflector.