FOREST GROVE, Ore. (TCD) — A man has been convicted of fatally shooting his girlfriend’s ex-boyfriend in 2022 because he was jealous of their continued communication.
According to the Washington County District Attorney’s Office, David Baynes was found guilty of second-degree murder, unlawful use of a weapon, and felon in possession of a firearm on Thursday, March 7. Baynes’ case was presented in a bench trial, which means the presiding judge determines the verdict.
Baynes will remain in custody until his sentencing on April 24.
On Sept. 18, 2022, at around 8 p.m., officers with the Forest Grove Police Department responded to reports of gunshots near a home on Meadow View Road. Police found the victim with multiple gunshot wounds, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Officers identified Baynes as the primary suspect in what prosecutors called an “unprovoked attack.” Baynes was in a relationship with the victim’s ex-girlfriend at the time, and he was reportedly “jealous of her continued contact with the victim.”
Further investigation revealed Baynes was leaving his girlfriend’s home when he noticed the victim driving toward the woman’s residence in a minivan. Baynes reportedly pulled up to the vehicle and shot his girlfriend’s ex 15 times.
According to the district attorney’s office, “Each bullet entered the victim’s body, and he died within minutes.”
Baynes abandoned the firearm and fled to a rural area of Yamhill County to hide, where he slept in some blackberry bushes overnight. He also covered his truck with a tarp and reset his phone to avoid police tracking, prosecutors said.
A Yamhill County Sheriff’s Office deputy found Baynes the next day and took him into custody.
According to prosecutors, Baynes told law enforcement the victim was armed, and he shot him in self-defense. However, investigators later learned the victim was unarmed.
The Washington County Search and Rescue Team recovered the handgun Baynes used to fatally shoot the victim.
Baynes admitted he was not permitted to use the handgun as a felon and told detectives he “knew what he did was wrong.”
Prior to his most recent conviction, Baynes had been found guilty of manslaughter in 2008. According to the Forest Grove News-Times, Baynes lost control of a vehicle on Highway 47 while driving under the influence of intoxicants. The car reportedly caught fire, and a back-seat passenger died as a result.
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