A former security guard was sentenced to life in prison Monday for shooting and killing a man while on duty outside a Salem Denny's restaurant in 2017.
After less than 10 minutes of deliberation, a Marion County jury unanimously convicted Gregory Capwell, 34, of Salem, of the murder of 25-year-old Jose Francisco Moreno.
Marion County Judge David Leith sentenced Capwell to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 25 years. He was also ordered to pay $3,650 in restitution to Moreno's family to cover his burial costs.
Capwell's conviction came more than a year after officers, responding to reports of shots fired near the Denny's, found Moreno bleeding from multiple gunshot wounds on the parking lot blacktop. He died at the scene.
Nearby was Capwell, an armed security guard working for the Salem-based company Homefront Security.
Although Capwell claimed he acted in self-defense, security camera from a neighboring business proved to be a key piece of evidence against him during his four-day trial, prosecutor Matthew Kemmy said in a statement.
According to video footage and witness statements, Capwell confronted Moreno and two other men as they attempted to dine at Denny's on 3155 Ryan Drive SE in the early morning hours of July 22, 2017.
Capwell told the men they were trespassing. The men questioned Capwell's authority, calling him a "rent-a-cop" and asked to speak with the restaurant manager.
Moreno said he knew his rights and wanted to talk to Capwell's boss. But as he moved toward the restaurant, Capwell tried to grab Moreno and place him under a citizen's arrest.
Capwell then tased Moreno, despite being warned that Moreno had a pacemaker, prosecutors said.
Moreno fell to the ground, and his friends helped him remove the electroshock weapon's probes.
Altercation with guard escalated
Moreno and his friends got back into their car, telling Capwell he could call the police but they were leaving.
Capwell said it had "already gotten past that point" and they had "lost the right" to leave, according to court records.
He then ran up and physically yanked Moreno out of the car.
When Moreno was pulled from the car, he began to fight with Capwell.
Capwell shot him twice in the chest with his .40 caliber Glock handgun.
After the shooting, Salem police embarked on a week-long investigation. Detectives reviewed video surveillance of the early-morning shooting, interviewed several witnesses and consulted the Marion County District Attorney's Office.
Capwell was arrested on murder charges a week later.
Following the shooting, Homefront Security management did not respond to multiple requests from the Statesman Journal for comment.
The Oregon Department of Public Safety Standards and Training, which sets the standards for armed security professionals, listed Capwell as having a reinstated armed/unarmed professional certificate. His certifications date back to 2010, and he was listed as an employee, or former employee, of several local security companies.
The July 2017 shooting was not the first time Capwell was suspected of acting aggressively and overstepping boundaries while working as a security guard.
According to a motion filed by prosecutors, Capwell frequently attempted to create the impression that he was law enforcement.
History of posing as police officer cited
Prosecutors said he altered his vehicles to look like Salem police cruisers, dressed like a police officer, displayed a badge and would refer to himself as "Officer Capwell," "Sgt. Capwell" and "Commander Capwell" to both civilians and law enforcement.
"I've lost track of how many police officers told me, 'As soon as I heard a security guard shot someone, I knew it was Capwell,'" Kemmy said.
According to court records, civilians, firefighters, officers and emergency personnel have mistaken Capwell for a police officer or U.S. Marshal.
Kemmy detailed an incident in 2004 when Capwell, while working as a security guard at West Salem High School, called police to report a Hispanic man armed with a hunting rifle. The report led to a lockdown and terrorized the community, Kemmy said.
After police found no trace of the armed man, Capwell admitted he exaggerated the details. Kemmy accused him of making the whole thing to make himself seem heroic in some way.
"Between that day in 2004 and what happened in 2017, the defendant spent more than a dozen years using excessive force against people in the community," Kemmy added.
Capwell frequently inserted himself into police activity by listening to police scanners and patrolling Salem and Keizer looking for criminal activity, "which had nothing to do with his role a hired security guard," prosecutors said.
In multiple instances, he followed possible DUI drivers and suspicious people home and reported them to police, only to have the reports be unfounded.
"(Capwell) regularly goes hands-on with people, attempting to take them into custody when they refuse to acknowledge his commands," prosecutors said in the motion.
They recounted incidents where Capwell used a Taser on a handcuffed person, used a Taser on a man trying to prevent his son from being removed from a tavern and handcuffed a woman for an hour when she refused to give him her identification information.
Police officers would routinely respond to locations where Capwell had detained someone and immediately removed their handcuffs and released them because no crime had been committed.
Prosecutors argued that these incidents proved Capwell had a history of using force against people who defied him.
"I think it's important to understand — this was not just one night in the defendant's life, one bad decision in an otherwise decent, respectable career," Kemmy said. "In fact, the opposite is true."
Leith ordered that evidence about Capwell's history of impersonating a police officer and use of force be excluded from the trial. But before delivering his sentence, Leith called the fatal shooting a "predictable tragedy."
Capwell previously was arrested on fourth-degree assault, reckless driving and reckless endangerment charges in 2011. He was convicted of reckless driving, sentenced to two years probation and ordered to attend anger-management classes.
He also was convicted of reckless driving in 2004 and of reckless driving, speeding and speed racing on a highway in 2009.
Capwell was acquitted of the assault and reckless endangerment charges. Had he been convicted, he may have been unable to be licensed to carry a gun as a security guard.
Moreno grew up in Mill City with his family. Following his death, his sister Jessica Ginsbach described him as loving, fun and non-judgemental.
"He was a good kid," she said. "He was awesome. Everybody loved him, and he loved everybody."
She said he was always quick to make friends and loved his dog.
"We're all really upset that he's gone," Ginsbach said. "We lost a good friend."
At his sentencing, Capwell apologized to Moreno's family.
"I never wanted to take somebody's life," he said. "I didn't wish for Mr. Moreno to die ... If I could take back the situation, I would. But that's not possible."
For questions, comments and news tips, email reporter Whitney Woodworth at wmwoodwort@statesmanjournal.com, call 503-399-6884 or follow on Twitter @wmwoodworth