In memorium: Sean David Kennedy

From the Mollala Pioneer, May 18, 2010

A six-hour police standoff with an armed man off of Highway 213 in Molalla came to an end shortly before 11 p.m. Tuesday after the man shot himself.

Sean David Kennedy, 33, of Canby, allegedly robbed Dave’s Prescription Shop in Canby around 3:50 p.m. and fled the scene, leading Canby and Molalla police officers and Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office deputies on a chase, said Sgt. Det. Frank Schoenfeld of Canby Police Department.

The pursuit started when a Canby police sergeant spotted Kennedy’s rust-colored GMC pickup heading toward Molalla on Macksburg Road, Schoenfeld said. Police cornered Kennedy on Liberal Way, near a private address at 28890 S. Highway 213 in Molalla, the former location of Keegan’s Korner tavern.

Police surrounded Kennedy and he barricaded himself in his pickup, periodically pointing a handgun to his head while popping pills and smoking from a marijuana pipe, said Det. Jim Strovink, public information officer for CCSO.

“He’d have short dialogue with us but just kept putting the gun to his head,” Schoenfeld said.

Police and Oregon Department of Transportation personnel blocked off Highway 213 between Macksburg Road and Barnards Road for the duration of the standoff.

“He was totally contained at all times,” Strovink said. “The community was safe at all times.”

Negotiators worked for hours trying to persuade Kennedy to surrender.

“These guys tried in vain valiantly to reason with this individual,” Strovink said.

At an opportunity when the gun appeared to be out of Kennedy’s hand, CCSO personnel moved in closer to the vehicle and deployed a gas.

“We were trying to tactically remove him from the vehicle,” Strovink said.

But before they could succeed, Kennedy shot himself. A medic on the scene confirmed his death and the medical examiner responded, Strovink said.

OxyContin tablets were scattered around the pickup and Schoenfeld said Kennedy ingested multiple tablets throughout the ordeal. He stole an estimated 40 to 60 tablets from the drugstore.

Dave’s Prescription Shop was also the target of an armed robbery last November, but Kennedy had no connection to that case, Schoenfeld said. In the November case, shop employees recognized the masked robber and he was later arrested, after fleeing with five bottles of OxyContin tablets.

On Tuesday, Kennedy entered the drugstore and demanded OxyContin, telling shop employees that he had a gun but didn’t want to show it, Schoenfeld said.

Reporters contacted the owner of Dave’s Prescription Shop, but he said he was unable to give any information at this time.

READ – Police identify Canby man, 23, who shot himself after robbery, standoff, from The Oregonian, May 18, 2010