A Washington County jury on Wednesday found a 37-year-old Beaverton man guilty of second-degree murder in the death of 32-year-old Jeremy Lee Covey.
The jury also found Herbert James Rabago guilty on charges of unlawful use of a weapon and felon in possession of a firearm.
Court records show the children of Covey and Rabago share a mother, who told a grand jury that on Feb. 18, 2021, 20 minutes before the fatal shooting, Rabago came to her home and argued heatedly with her and Covey, who’d been released from Oregon prison a week before in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Prosecutors said Covey texted a friend with misspelled words, “Boss call me ASAP harm pooled a syrap,” with “harm” referring to Rabago’s nickname and “syrap” possibly being a typo for “strap,” slang for gun.
The text was excluded at trial as inadmissible hearsay in part because of its lack of clarity.
Rabago then drove to the 17800 block of Kinnaman Road near an apartment complex in Aloha, crashed into Covey’s car with him inside it, shot Covey and drove off, the mother testified under oath. She’d earlier told police she couldn’t identify the shooter, prompting Rabago’s defense attorneys to call her statements unreliable.
Covey died at an urgent care facility.
Police arrested Rabago on March 4, 2021 after spotting his car in Beaverton and chasing him for about a mile. An attorney for Rabago did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Seven years earlier, a Beaverton police officer shot and wounded Rabago as officers responded to a reported domestic disturbance.
Court records show that when police shot him in 2014, Rabago was on probation in three criminal cases involving convictions of first- and second-degree theft and second-degree criminal mischief. Beaverton police say an officer shot Rabago after he charged at the cop with a knife, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported at the time.
Rabago has already served two prison sentences for felony assault and unlawful use of a weapon, the Washington County District Attorney’s Office said Wednesday.
Covey had been convicted in 2018 of two counts of unauthorized use of a vehicle and one count of fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer, according to court records.
Rabago’s sentencing is set for June 29.
— Beth Slovic; bslovic@oregonian.com; 503-221-8551
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