Police chief: Killing of Vandersande was deliberate; multiple persons of interest identified, but shooter remains at large
By Steven Mitchell, Ashland.news
The Ashland Police Department provided an update on Friday, Sept. 12, on the ongoing investigation into the shooting death of Matthew Mark Vandersande while in his vehicle early Sunday, Sept. 7, in Ashland’s Railroad District.
Ashland Police Chief Tighe O’Meara said in a Friday phone interview that while there are multiple persons of interest, no suspects are currently in custody.
O’Meara said since Vandersande, 40, was shot several times while in his vehicle, between 15 to 20 law enforcement officials from Ashland, Medford, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, and the Oregon State Police Crime Lab, along with the county’s District Attorney’s Office, have been working the case “all day every day.”
O’Meara said that work has included interviewing witnesses, developing leads, and recovering evidence.
“The investigation has led the detectives to previously unknown information, and that has led to persons of interest and the discovery of potential evidence,” he said. “And so the investigation continues.”
O’Meara reiterated what law enforcement officials have said since the onset of the investigation: Vandersande’s murder was a targeted attack, not a random act of violence.
“Crimes of violence are not random. They’re precipitated by something, and it would be the anomaly (for it to be random),” O’Meara said.
O’Meara said random murders do happen. He pointed to the still-unsolved 2011 homicide of Ashland resident David Grubbs, who was murdered on his way home from work on a bike path behind Hunter Park.
“It does happen, that’s the anomaly rather than the rule,” O’Meara said.
O’Meara said the investigation into Vandersande’s murder — his background, probe of the persons of interest, and circumstances surrounding the case — leads investigators to believe the attack was targeted. He declined to get into specifics, given that the investigation is ongoing.
O’Meara said law enforcement officials have not released surveillance footage or stills of the suspected shooter fleeing the scene to protect the integrity of the investigation.
He said investigators so far don’t believe releasing the images would advance the investigation.
“We won’t share anything unless it’s to our advantage, and as soon as the investigator in charge of the case tells me that it’s to our advantage, then we’ll share it,” the O’Meara said.
Nonetheless, O’Meara said law enforcement officials continue to encourage the public to come forward with any information or evidence.
“Public safety is a community effort,” he said. “It’s not just on the police department. If you have something, if you have video, if you witnessed something, then please reach out to us,” he said.
He said the leads from the public so far have been enough to keep investigators busy.
Patrick Green, the Jackson County district attorney, reinforced Chief O’Meara’s comments in an email response to an Ashland.news inquiry mid-day Friday.
“There are multiple persons of interest at this time,” Green wrote. “As we speak, (Jackson County Major Assault/Death Investigation Unit) investigators are actively working hard to solve the case. We still do not believe that there is any general threat to the community. It continues to be clear from the evidence gathered by investigators at this time that this was a targeted attack on this victim by someone who had a strong motive to do so. It was not a random attack.
Email Ashland.news associate editor Steve Mitchell at stevem@ashland.news.
Sept. 12: Comment added from district attorney.
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