MAN GETS PRISON IN FATAL SHOOTING CASE

A Yoncalla man was sentenced Tuesday to 15 years in prison for what
his lawyer described as the all-too-common result of illegal drug use
and illegal gun possession.

In a deal with the prosecutor, Edward Lavern Kayer, 22, pleaded guilty
to first-degree manslaughter for the Sept. 3 shooting death of
28-year-old Fritz Allen Jones. A murder charge was dropped in the deal.

Defense lawyer Bob Schrank and Deputy District Attorney Bill Warnisher
said the shooting happened during a fight at a travel trailer where
Jones lived at 32832 Southgate Way near Cottage Grove.

Kayer went there to try to remove a woman who had recently relapsed
into her methamphetamine addiction, both lawyers said. Police found a
methamphetamine laboratory inside the trailer after the shooting.

If the case had gone to trial, Kayer could have claimed that he acted
in self-defense or in defense of the woman when he shot Jones several
times with a handgun, Warnisher and Schrank said. The murder case was
scheduled for trial in three weeks.

In court, Kayer apologized to Jones' family, saying he didn't intend
to kill Jones.

"I went there to help a friend. One thing led to another. What
happened happened," Kayer said. "I'm really sorry to you guys and my
family, too."

Jones' relatives chose not to address Lane County Circuit Judge Lyle
Velure before sentencing.

"This involved drugs and guns, a theme this court is more than
familiar with," Schrank told the judge. Warnisher said, "No crime
could be more tragic, more stupid, than this one."

In keeping with the plea deal, Velure sentenced Kayer to a mandatory
Measure 11 term of 10 years in prison without early release. The judge
also gave Kayer an additional five-year term for being a felon in
possession of a weapon. Kayer has previous convictions for theft and
burglary in Coos and Douglas counties, according to court records.