Case of DEA agent accused of hitting, killing Salem cyclist in legal limbo

Almost one year after an on-duty DEA agent struck and killed a Salem cyclist, the legal case to charge the agent with criminally negligent homicide remains in limbo.

Months passed before agent Samuel Landis, 38, faced criminal charges in Marion County Circuit Court.

Landis is accused of running a stop sign at High and Leslie streets SE just south of downtown while conducting surveillance of a drug trafficker on March 28, 2023. Marganne Allen, 53, who was riding her bike home from work, was hit and later died at the hospital.

When Landis' attorneys argued he was entitled to use the federal defense of immunity under the Supremacy Clause because he was actively surveilling a "dangerous fentanyl supplier" while on duty, his case was taken out of local circuit court and into federal court. According to court records, other agents were further ahead and trailing the suspected trafficker.

A trial was set for May 1 in U.S. District Court in Eugene. But an appeal by the Oregon Department of Justice on the district court's decision to move the case to federal court paused proceedings.

The case is now being handled in the Ninth Circuit U.S Court of Appeals. An oral argument is set for May 7 in Seattle.

Salem crash leaves Marganne Allen dead

A display of flowers and candles still marks the intersection where Allen died. The scene of the crash sits at the bottom of a hill as High Street transitions from downtown into the Bush's Pasture Park neighborhood. The intersection has a stop sign for those traveling eastbound on Leslie Street. There is no stop sign for those traveling on High Street.

Allen's family posted a note at the crash site thanking neighbors for caring for Allen until an ambulance arrived and holding a vigil in her honor.

"Marganne was a kind and loving person that would have done the same for you," her family said in the note. "To us, this will always be a sacred place and you will always be our heroes."

Neighborhood cameras captured Landis speeding through the neighborhood and running the stop sign, according to reporting from Salem Reporter and confirmed by neighbors.

The police response has drawn criticism in the past year. Landis did not face any immediate charges. Keizer Police took over the investigation after Salem Police discovered Landis was an on-duty DEA agent and cited a potential conflict of interest.

Months of silence from city and county officials regarding Allen's death ensued.

On Aug. 31, a Marion County grand jury returned a secret indictment charging Landis. A warrant was issued for his arrest on Sept. 6.

Immunity defense takes Samuel Landis' case out of circuit court

Landis' criminal case was assigned to Marion County Circuit Court Judge Tracy Prall without entry of a plea.

On Oct. 16, Landis’ defense team filed a Notice of Removal of State Criminal Prosecution to remove the prosecution from Oregon state court, in this case the Marion County Circuit Court, to federal court.

His defense attorneys argued that because he struck the victim while he was working as a federal agent, he is entitled to immunity from prosecution by the state, even though he may have broken state law.

"In some instances, breaking traffic laws is necessary for law enforcement to do their job; the failure to do so would render them 'ineffective,'" Landis' attorneys argued in a motion.

They cited DEA policy permitting special agents to violate traffic laws and rely on their best judgment. Despite the tragedy, his attorneys said, Landis was entitled to argue he was immune from prosecution.

Landis' attorney also cited the case of an ICE agent who ran a stop sign in southern California, killing three women and injuring two children.

In 2012, a U.S. District Court judge said federal law gave immunity from state prosecution to federal law enforcement officers accused of crimes committed in the course of their duties, according to reporting from the San Diego Union-Tribune.

The judge said that even though the agent wasn't responding to an emergency when he killed the three women, punishing him could have a "chilling" effect on federal agents responding to actual emergencies.

The three manslaughter charges against the ICE agent were dropped.

Marion County prosecutors Ashley Cadotte and David Wilson said in court documents Landis showed "grossly negligent actions."

"While conducting surveillance in Salem, Oregon, in which no exigent or emergency circumstances were present, defendant ran a clearly marked stop sign and killed a cyclist as she entered the intersection," prosecutors said in a response filed in federal court.

The prosecutors said Landis admitted to running the stop sign and had no lights or sirens on when he entered the intersection in an unmarked vehicle.

There were no plans to arrest an individual being surveilled that day or to immediately intervene to disrupt the transportation of drugs, prosecutors said.

"(Landis) is not being prosecuted for carrying out his federal duties, rather, he is being prosecuted for driving his vehicle in a grossly negligent manner that resulted in the death of an individual," prosecutors said. "There is no meaningful connection between defendant’s federal duties and his conduct of running a stop sign and killing a cyclist."

U.S. District Court Judge Michael McShane ruled the case would be heard in federal court.

The move allowed Landis to argue for law enforcement immunity as a possible defense. Federal law provides law enforcement officers with a potential criminal defense of immunity from prosecution. Such a defense does not exist under Oregon state law.

The Marion County District Attorney's Office objected to the removal and sought an appeal of the decision from the Oregon Department of Justice.

Oregon DOJ appeals decision

Attorneys with the Oregon Department of Justice appealed the decision, claiming the judge "clearly erred" by allowing Landis to remove his prosecution to federal court.

DOJ attorneys argued Landis didn't put forward evidence his immunity defense was plausible.

"The bald assertion of a federal defense is not sufficient to confer jurisdiction on the federal court and, conversely, wrest jurisdiction from the state courts," said Senior Assistant Attorney General Philip Thoennes in a reply brief.

Landis failed to provide evidence that disregarding the stop sign and driving through the intersection at nearly 20 miles per hour was objectively reasonable given the circumstances, Thoennes said, adding that other agents were already further ahead and trailing the suspect.

In court documents, Landis' attorney, Amy Potter, said the judge did not err in sending the case to federal court and the state's action of trying to get the case back in Marion County Circuit Court was an "extraordinary" and "rare" remedy. She said the effort was unwarranted and drastic, and the case belonged in federal court.

"The state’s primary contention is that because agent Landis purportedly failed to prove an exigency or urgency that required him to run the stop sign, he has foreclosed any argument that his actions are objectively reasonable," Potter said. "That is simply incorrect."

For questions, comments and news tips, email reporter Whitney Woodworth at wmwoodworth@statesmanjournal.com, call 503-910-6616 or follow on Twitter at @wmwoodworth

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Case of DEA agent accused of killing Oregon cyclist in limbo