Portland cannabis store worker charged with murder fled robbery but then fired 13 rounds at suspects as they left, court docs say

PORTLAND, Ore. -- A cannabis store employee who is accused of fatally shooting two people who allegedly attempted to rob the business fired at them from outside the store after they let him leave, according to court records.

Jason Steiner, 34, is accused of second-degree murder in the deaths of 18-year-old King Lawrence and 20-year-old Tahir Burley. A third robbery suspect escaped, and Steiner is facing an additional charge of attempted murder in connection with that person.

Steiner, who turned himself in on Wednesday, told police he was in the back room of the St. Johns location of the La Mota dispensary chain when he heard people enter the store. Once he came out of the back room, Steiner found three people pointing guns at him. He told them they could “take the store,” later telling police he feared being killed, court records say.

He then grabbed a bag out of the back room with his gun in it and told them he was leaving. The three people allowed him to go.

“At that point, there was no apparent reason why Mr. Steiner did not leave the area,” a probable cause affidavit stated. “The individuals were inside the building, the door was closed and Mr. Steiner was the length of the building away from the door and around the corner.”

Instead of fleeing, Steiner walked back toward the door — the only one to the dispensary.

Steiner then took his gun and waited, he said. When no one came out of the building, he moved to the drive-up window to watch the people inside, according to the affidavit. (Police said surveillance footage showed he never stopped at the door and went straight to the window.)

Steiner told police he believed one of the individuals had a gun in his hand in a “low ready” position and decided this “was his chance.” He began firing into the building from outside through the drive-up window. Steiner said he fired his gun until he ran out of bullets and once it was empty, he went to the sidewalk and called 911.

When asked why he didn’t just leave instead of going back and shooting, Steiner told police he is a large man who could not get away if the suspects tried to come after him. He also said his car keys were in the store, so he wasn’t sure whether they might take his car and “hunt him down.”

The gun he used in the shooting, a semi-automatic handgun with an extended magazine, did not have a serial number. Steiner told officers he built it, and no live rounds were left. Officers found 13 casings outside the building in front of the drive-up window.

Surveillance video from the dispensary showed none of the three people suspected of robbing the business had firearms in their hands when they were shot. They had their backs to the door and were loading merchandise into duffle bags.

“When he began firing, internal video showed none of the three individuals had firearms in their hands and they appeared not to notice or realize Mr. Steiner was outside the window,” the affidavit stated.

None of the individuals inside the building appeared to fire any rounds back at Steiner, according to the affidavit. The third individual, whom police are seeking, appeared to not have been hit and ultimately ran out of the building.

Portland police officers responded to the St. Johns branch of the La Mota dispensary chain in the 9400 block of North St. Louis Avenue on Oct. 3.

Burley was still breathing when officers arrived.

They pulled him out of the store and began rendering aid, court records said, but he was pronounced dead at the scene. A medical examiner noted Lawrence died from a gunshot wound to the head and Burley died from a gunshot wound to the chest.

Steiner made an initial court appearance Thursday, and his court-appointed attorney, Thalia Sady, said her client pleaded not guilty. Steiner, wearing a blue jumpsuit, mostly looked down and did not say anything to the court.

Sady was not immediately available for comment Thursday evening.

The North Portland store had been the target of at least four previous armed robberies since 2022, state records show. A sign outside the business last week said it stopped letting customers in after 9 p.m. as a result and directed customers to the drive-through window until the store closed at 10 p.m.

In December 2021, Steiner was fired from a different dispensary and then drove his truck into the pickup belonging to the man who let him go, court records say. Steiner was arrested after he then slammed into the unmarked patrol car of a Multnomah County sheriff’s deputy.

Steiner renewed his permit to work in Oregon dispensaries on May 9, 2023. He did not report any criminal convictions.

On May 22, 2023, Steiner pleaded guilty to several misdemeanors, including recklessly endangering another person, in connection with the 2021 incident. Steiner was sentenced to three years of bench probation in the case.

He was still on probation when he was arrested Wednesday.