Victim from White City Shooting Died Last Week, Suspect Charged with Murder
The victim from the January 28th shooting in White City died last week and the suspect has been charged with murder.
The Jackson County Sheriff's Office on Tuesday identified the victim as 36-year-old Casey Ryan Helmka of Medford. His next of kin has been notified and their condolences go out to his family and friends during this difficult time.
On January 28th at 6:51 p.m., sheriff's deputies responded to a call for gunshots and someone calling for help in the area of 29th and Falcon streets. The suspect -- 27-year-old Hector Cruz Orozco of White City -- was no longer on scene.
An initial investigation showed Orozco and the victim were at a mobile home in the 3700-block of Falcon Street, the two exited the residence and Orozco shot the victim at close range before fleeing on a bicycle. The next day, investigations led detectives to a house in the 7800-block of Laura Lane in White City where they served a search warrant with assistance from SWAT, K-9 and Crisis Negotiation teams. The suspect was placed into custody on Monday, January 29th, at 5:54 p.m..
Hector Orozco was originally charged with 2nd-Degree Attempted Murder, 1st-Degree Assault and two counts of Felon in Possession of a Firearm. A Jackson County grand jury upgraded the Attempted Murder and Assault charges to 2nd-Degree Murder during a February 22nd hearing.
The Jackson County District Attorney's Office will prosecute the case, which remains under investigation.
Posted on 2/28/24 6:30AM by Sam Marsh
