Medford, Ore. — Timothy Caruthers was shot dead by an off duty Medford Police officer behind Pennzoil Oil Shop off Crater Lake Highway and Delta Waters Road Monday. Police said it started at Sportsman’s Warehouse where Caruthers attempted to shoplift, menaced employees with a knife when confronted, then took off running. An off-duty officer in the store at the time followed.
Police said the off-duty officer caught up with Caruthers. He shot him twice after Caruthers swung the knife at him.
Medford Police had already been pursuing the wanted man. Caruthers was convicted of first degree sex abuse in 2011 involving children under the age of 12-years-old. The Oregonian reports the abuse involved three girls, one as young as six.
Before his trial Caruthers fled to South Carolina. A tip led to his arrest, then it was back to Oregon where he spent three years in prison.
Caruther’s crime spree didn’t stop there. In February 2015 Medford Police asked the public’s help in finding Caruther’s after a victim caught a picture of him rummaging through someone’s patio on Skypark Drive. They said he cut through two apartment screens for access to the patio.
Out on parole, Caruthers criminal history shows he kept violating his parole on his sex abuse conviction.
Crime Stoppers issued a notice with a $1,000 reward in November 2015 in an attempt to track him down.
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