EUGENE -- A Lane County jury has acquitted a man who had been accused of being an accomplice in the fatal Thanksgiving Eve robbery of a Eugene coffee stand.
On Monday, jurors acquitted 28-year-old Brandon Lee Plunk of attempted aggravated murder, first-degree robbery, first-degree burglary and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
On Nov. 24, a Dutch Bros. barista pulled his own gun and fatally shot 27-year-old Sirus Combs.
Eugene police said in court papers that Combs died in the coffee stand's doorway, clutching a wad of stolen cash and a pistol.
The district attorney's office filed no charges against the 24-year-old barista, saying he was the victim and killed Combs in self-defense.
The Register-Guard reports Plunk testified that the barista knew Combs and unlocked the door for him and that no robbery was planned.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Patty Perlow said she was surprised by the verdict.
The evidence in the case seemed pretty strong, Perlow said. She commended Eugene police for doing a phenomenal job investigating the incident.
