Man gave 12-year-old drugs and assaulted her, then shot at deputy, Oregon officials say
A man accused of giving drugs to a 12-year-old girl and sexually assaulting her later fired several shots at a sheriff’s deputy during a high-speed chase while he was out of jail pending a trial, Oregon officials said.
Now, after convictions and guilty pleas in two separate cases, James Leland Tijerina, 31, is set to be sentenced on Feb. 21, the Washington County District Attorney’s Office said in a Feb. 14 news release.
“It’s been a long road for everyone involved in and affected by Mr. Tijerina’s actions over the last three years,” Deputy District Attorney Rayney Meisel said in the release. “These guilty verdicts and guilty pleas represent a path to true healing for all who have been victimized by Mr. Tijerina.”
Tijerina’s attorney said it’s her policy not comment on cases in a Feb. 26 email to McClatchy News.
Allegations of drugs, assault
Tijerina is accused of giving fentanyl to the 12-year-old in February 2022, prosecutors said. The girl “became unresponsive after she and the defendant smoked the drug,” and Tijerina called 911, according to prosecutors.
“Investigators learned the victim was a runaway and had spent the last several days with the defendant. After initially denying an inappropriate relationship with the defendant, the victim disclosed several instances of abuse committed by Mr. Tijerina and provided photos and videos that helped corroborate her disclosure,” prosecutors said.
The girl said Tijerina “gave her methamphetamine and fentanyl several times over the course of a few days. She also described how the defendant raped her while she was under the influence of the drugs he provided,” prosecutors said.
A second girl also told officials that Tijerina “gave her acid following a surgery when she was 12 years old.”
Tijerina was arrested and indicted, then released pending trial, prosecutors said.
High-speed chase
In October 2023, after he failed to appear at a hearing and became the subject of an arrest warrant, he was involved in a chase that “reached speeds exceeding 100 miles per hour,” according to prosecutors.
He’s accused of firing “several rounds directly at a Washington County deputy who was attempting to stop the vehicle. He fired from such a short range that the deputy could see the muzzle flash as the defendant opened fire. The deputy had to swerve away from gunfire while driving at approximately 80 miles per hour,” prosecutors said.
Tijerina was caught after police laid down spike strips to puncture his tires, prosecutors said.
Charges
Tijerina was taken to jail, “where it was discovered that he had smuggled a substantial quantity of fentanyl into the jail,” prosecutors said.
He’s also accused of urging a witness in a jail phone call not to testify against him. “That witness later disclosed being fearful of retaliation if she participated as a witness in the cases,” prosecutors said.
Tijerina was convicted Feb. 5 of multiple charges, including second-degree rape, first-degree sexual abuse, second-degree unlawful sexual penetration, two counts each of unlawful delivery of methamphetamine to a minor and unlawful delivery of a schedule II controlled substance to a minor, and recklessly endangering another person, prosecutors said.
He pleaded guilty Feb. 11 to charges including attempted murder in the first degree with a firearm, unlawful use of a weapon with a firearm, felon in possession of a firearm, supplying contraband, unlawful possession of a controlled substance-substantial quantity, and witness tampering, according to prosecutors.
Washington County includes the city of Hillsboro, about a 20-mile drive west from Portland.
This story was originally published February 18, 2025 at 3:30 PM with the headline "Man gave 12-year-old drugs and assaulted her, then shot at deputy, Oregon officials say."
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