Central Oregon Man Indicted for Carjacking, Kidnapping, and Firearms Offenses

U.S. Attorney’s Office
District of Oregon
16 November 2016

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

EUGENE, Ore. – On Wednesday, November 16, 2016, Edwin Enoc Lara, 31, of Redmond, Oregon was indicted by a federal grand jury in Eugene, Oregon for carjacking, kidnapping, and two counts of brandishing a firearm. The defendant’s federal charges are related to an alleged July 2016 carjacking and kidnapping of a female victim in Salem, Oregon and taking her to California.

Lara is currently in custody in Deschutes County, Oregon where he is facing state charges for aggravated murder in connection with the death of Kaylee Sawyer. Lara is also facing separate state charges in Siskiyou County, California including attempted murder and assault.

An indictment is only an accusation of a crime, and a defendant should be presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. If convicted of the federal charges, Lara faces a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years and up to life in prison on the firearm charges, a maximum sentence of fifteen years for carjacking and twenty years for kidnapping.

This case is being investigated by the FBI in collaboration with the Redmond Police Department, Bend Police Department, Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office, Oregon State Police, and other local law enforcement agencies in California. Nathan J. Lichvarcik, Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Oregon, is prosecuting the case.