Document text
Fugitive in old murder is arrested Charges also filed on Buschmann's family By BILL VARBLE A murder suspect captured Friday in Wolf Creek apparently apparently had been hiding out in the nearby mountains for three years as police sought him for a sniper-type slaying. Daniel Lee Buschmann, 42, was arrested at his mother's home by Josephine County Sheriff's Office deputies with help from Oregon State Police. Several of Buschmann's family members also were arrested and charged with aiding Buschmann. Buschmann was wanted in connection with the ambush-style slaying of Joseph David Gorgita. On Dec. 9, 1995, Gorgita, of 3930 Lower Wolf Creek Road, was shot to death with a high-powered rifle from a distance of about 75 yards in what officials describe as an ambush. "Buschmann immediately fled into the woods, where he has apparently lived off and on for the three past years," Sheriff Dave Daniel said in a release Saturday. He said Buschmann eluded capture several times before he was finally caught. Daniel described Bushmann as extremely dangerous to law officers "and to anyone who (incurrs) his disfavor." He said Buschmann is an excellent marksman and woodsman who was able to survive in the mountains for long periods with only minimal supplies. At the time of Gorgita's death, Buschmann and Gorgita, 59, had reportedly been involved in a long-standing feud. Daniels said Bushmann made a similar ambush attack on a girlfriend in 1992, but the woman survived. The sheriff said a break in the murder case came in January when Buschmann and another fugitive, Ian Fleming, also described as dangerous, were spotted in the mountains above Wolf Creek, about 20 miles north of Grants Pass. At least one of the men was armed with a high-powered rifle. Another break in the case came March 1, when a stolen van was recovered from a remote camp believed to be a hideout of Buschmann. The 1985 Dodge van was stolen from the North Valley Assembly of God Church on Dec. 29. The fingerprints of Buschmann's brother, Donald Buschmann, were found on the van. Surveillance by an OSP SWAT team determined that Buschmann was at his mother's Speaker Road home Friday, Daniel said. Armed with a search warrant, officers went to the home and arrested Buschmann. No one was injured in the arrest. The sheriff said a search of the home turned up evidence that family members had been helping Buschmann avoid capture. He said the three-year investigation included extensive aerial and ground surveillance including photography, and hundreds of hours of work on the case by the OSP. He said the investigation found several hideouts used by Buschmann and a marijuana-growing operation Buschmann had in the hills. He was lodged in the Josephine County Jail on charges of murder and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Also arrested were his mother, Luretta Ann Buschman, 62; a brother, Donald Ellis Buschmann, 47, and Mary Jo Lee Phillips, 50, all of 1291 Speaker Road, Wolf Creek. Phillips was reported to be Donald Buschmann's girlfriend. They are charged with hindering prosecution, a felony. Donald Ellis Buschmann is also charged with car theft. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA