UO hostage situation suspect on supervised release since Monday, next court date in January
The man accused of holding a University of Oregon student and their guest hostage in a dorm room and breaking into the Knight Law Center last month will have his next court appearance moved to Jan. 18.
Shawn Scott Densmore, 37, of Eugene, was arraigned Nov. 5 on two counts of coercion with a firearm, illegal possession of a firearm for carrying a concealed gun and trespassing following a string of events on campus the previous day.
Although police originally arrested Densmore under suspicion of kidnapping, burglary and menacing charges, those were dropped at the arraignment. Deputy District Attorney Spencer Gwartney said the facts of the case do not support those charges.
Previous coverage: Suspect in UO hostage situation arraigned on charges of coercion, carrying concealed weapon
"Proving all of the elements of kidnapping or burglary beyond a reasonable doubt in this case would be a significant challenge given the state of the evidence and the expected testimony," Gwartney said in an email.
He added that the two felony coercion charges, which Densmore was arraigned on instead, more accurately capture the conduct at issue in this case.
Densmore's first pre-trial appearance in Circuit Court was set for Dec. 13, but has now been moved to Jan. 18 at the request of his lawyer David Hill.
Phone requests for comment made to Hill were not immediately returned Wednesday afternoon.
Densmore was given a supervised release pre-trial Monday, Dec. 6, after a $12,000 security fee was paid and he signed a list of rules the court requires him to abide by. Those rules include not coming within a mile radius of the victims or the university and staying at an agreed residence, among others.
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Entered and hid in UO law center for hours
On Nov. 4, UO police said Densmore could be seen with a handgun and "acting erratically" on security cameras in the law center after pulling a fire alarm early that morning.
Densmore entered the building during its open access hours, shortly before it was locked with only keycard access at 7 p.m. Nov. 3, police said previously. He then hid until pulling the fire alarm at around 3 a.m., police said.
One student and their guest were outside of the UO's Hamilton Hall when they were approached by Densmore who had a gun in his hand, police said, before they allegedly allowed the suspect into the residence hall out of fear for their safety. He detained the two in a dorm room for a couple of hours, UO Police Chief Matt Carmichael said the day of the incident.
Densmore eventually left the room, and police located and arrested him, guided by texts from one of the victims, Carmichael said.
Louis Krauss covers breaking news for The Register-Guard. Contact him at lkrauss@registerguard.com, and follow him on Twitter @LouisKraussNews.
This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: UO hostage situation suspect has next court date set for January
