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68 °F Forecast | Road Cams Tuesday, May 24, 2005 Today's News | Shop Our Valley | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery | Contact Us SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Health Biz Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley SHOP OUR VALLEY AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Classified Place an ad TOP JOBS EXTRA Ashland News NIE Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Moving here? eSouthernOregon CUSTOMER SERVICE FAQ's Advertise with us Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend May 14, 2005 Widow questions police shooting as probe begins By JACK MORAN Mail Tribune A grand jury will be asked to determine whether three Medford police officers were justified in shooting and killing a rifle-toting man who reportedly had terrorized family members at their Crater Lake Avenue apartment Wednesday morning. The Oregon State Police hopes to turn over all investigative reports on the shooting death of Nicholas Rodriguez Vega to Jackson County prosecutors sometime next week, OSP Capt. Kurt Barthel said Friday. "Investigators are finders of fact," Barthel said. "We’re not going to make a decision about whether or not officers acted appropriately. That’s for the grand jury to decide." Barthel said he did not know when prosecutors would ask a grand jury to hear the case. Vega’s widow, Delores Morales-Vega, said Friday she believes the three Medford police officers who fired on her husband should have negotiated with him before the shooting. Advertisement "I understand they were doing their job, but there were other options they did not use," said Morales-Vega. "I do feel they abused their authority." She said Vega, 35, moved into his father’s apartment at 1850 Crater Lake Ave. earlier this year after separating from her. According to police, Vega’s niece, who also lives in the apartment, called 9-1-1 at 10:09 a.m. Wednesday to say that her uncle was being violent and destructive at the residence while armed with a knife. She told police she and her husband took their 14-month-old child to another room because they were frightened for their safety. After officers arrived at the scene and Vega’s relatives left the apartment, the niece warned police that Vega had a loaded rifle, officials said. At 10:34 a.m., officers saw Vega exit the apartment with the rifle, and ordered him to drop the weapon. Vega did not comply, posing "an imminent and increasing threat to the officers," Medford police Lt. Mike Moran said. Officers Greg Nichols and Brandon Bloomfield and Detective Tony Young all fired on Vega, who died at the scene. The officers have been placed on mandatory administrative leave pending the investigation’s outcome, Moran said. Barthel said Vega suffered "multiple wounds" in the shooting. Forensic technicians at an OSP crime lab are working to determine exactly how many shots were fired, he said. An autopsy has been completed, with investigators awaiting results of a toxicology test that should determine whether Vega had used drugs or alcohol prior to the incident. Vega’s widow said she shared a quiet life with her husband until he began abusing methamphetamine a few years ago. The drug turned Vega into an unpredictable person who once walked through his home with a large sword, intent on fighting imaginary intruders, Morales-Vega said. "He would get stuck in his own little world," she said. "The main thing was that he was paranoid. It’s hard to deal with a person with that problem." Morales-Vega obtained a restraining order against her husband following the sword incident, but said he never directed his aggression toward her or her three children, one of whom was fathered by Vega. "Violence was never involved," Morales-Vega said. "I just got scared" when Vega stormed through the house with the sword, she added. But the couple were attending marriage counseling, and Vega was seeking treatment for his drug use, Morales-Vega said. She last spoke with Vega on Monday to make plans for their son’s seventh birthday, which was Thursday. "We were working things out," she said, adding that her son "is not quite grasping what happened just yet." Officials at Orchard Hill Elementary School, where Vega’s son attends classes, have established a memorial fund for Vega at Rogue Valley Federal Credit Union. Checks can be made out to the Morales-Vega Memorial Fund. Reach reporter Jack Moran at 776-4459, or e-mail [email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. 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