An off-duty Vancouver police officer was stabbed three times in a struggle at the officer’s home before a responding Clark County sheriff’s deputy mistakenly shot and killed the officer. Twenty-year-old robbery suspect Julio Cesar Segura made his first appearance Monday in Clark County Superior Court on allegations of attempted first-degree murder, first-degree robbery, first-degree burglary, possession of a stolen vehicle and attempt to elude.
Segura is accused of robbing a Chevron mini-mart in the Orchards area of Clark County at gunpoint about 8:15 p.m. Saturday. He fled in a stolen Mercedes that he ditched near Sahota’s secluded Battle Ground home after deputies pursuing Segura flattened the car’s tires with spike strips, investigators said. Segura fled on foot and knocked on the door of Sahota’s home, claiming he’d been in a crash, authorities said. Sahota’s wife, Dawnese, called 911 and said her husband was holding Segura at gunpoint, according to a probable cause affidavit filed in the case.
Segura said he had been planning to flee to Seattle after robbing the Chevron, according to the affidavit. Segura’s flight from a convenience store robbery Saturday night set in motion the chance confrontation at Officer Donald Sahota’s home where a deputy mistook Sahota for the suspect and shot him, investigators said.
As they arrested Segura and handcuffed him at the house, deputies reported hearing him saying repeatedly, “One Lord, One God.” About 20 or 30 minutes later, a deputy opened the patrol car door to check on Segura, asked him if he was all right, and Segura responded, “I’m ready,” according to the affidavit. The regional Lower Columbia Major Crimes Team is investigating the shooting.
Sahota, 52, worked as a Vancouver police armorer and was most recently assigned to the agency’s training unit. He previously worked for the Gresham and Port of Portland police departments.
