PORTLAND, Ore. — The mother of a toddler who died of a suspected fentanyl overdose has been linked to an armed carjacking after the child’s death and a man police shot in a standoff just two weeks later.
Mary Jacobo was arraigned Friday in connection with several crimes. According to court documents, she was with Jesse West, when the two both pointed guns at a driver in a carjacking at a North Portland Transit Center in September.
Later that same day, on Sept. 26, West was shot and wounded by police in the Woodlawn neighborhood as they attempted to arrest him. He pleaded not guilty Wednesday to two counts of attempted murder.
Investigators said the two had been seen together several days leading up to the robbery. Jacobo was eventually arrested in Seaside, following a three-week search.
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On Sept. 12, authorities said her 2-year-old daughter died of a suspected fentanyl overdose. Jacobo has not been charged in connection with her daughter’s death.
According to court documents, two weeks to the day after her daughter's death, Jacobo robbed the man at the Delta Park Vanport Transit Station. The man said he was dropping off a friend around 1:53 a.m. when a red Kia pulled up next to him. The driver, later identified as West, exited the car brandishing an AR-15 style rifle and demanded his keys.
"I'm going to have to shoot you," West told the man, and that he would get the keys either way. When the man did not comply, West shoved the rifle in his face, the court documents stated. At this point, the woman passenger in the Kia, identified later as Jacobo, got out the car and pointed a handgun at the man, stating, "Give him your keys."
West then got into the man's car and drove away, almost hitting him in the process. Then, Jacobo got back into the Kia and followed him out of the parking lot, according to the court documents. Detectives said that the two have been under investigation for a string of robberies in the area.
Later that evening, around 6:21 p.m., Portland police attempted to arrest West, who was wanted for separate violent felonies involving a firearm around Northeast 17th Avenue near Northeast Bryant Street. When police approached West, there was "an exchange of gunfire," and three officers fired their guns. West was transported to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and is now in police custody.
Jacobo was arrested in Seaside on Tuesday on outstanding warrants. Portland police said she was in possession of a gun at the time of her arrest. Police had been searching for her ever since her 2-year-old child went into cardiac arrest on Sept. 12. She later died at the hospital. Evidence at the scene and conversations with hospital staff led detectives to believe fentanyl played a factor in her death.
According to court documents, Jacobo has been indicated with first-degree robbery with a firearm, second-degree robbery with a firearm, unlawful use of a weapon, coercion with a firearm, felon in possession of a firearm, unauthorized use of a vehicle and menacing all related to the Sept. 26 carjacking. She remains in custody with no bail and is scheduled to appear again in court in late October.