Reported robbery leads to standoff in East Medford

MEDFORD, Ore.- A reported robbery led to a standoff in East Medford on November 27th.

As of November 28, the suspect has confirmed to be Levi Steven Cortez. MPD booked him on charges of robbery and felony possession of a weapon along with others. Cortez also had several warrants out for his arrest. No trial dates have been confirmed yet.

Medford PD told NBC5 they got a call to come to a market on the corner of Crater Lake Avenue and Roberts Road around 3:30 pm that afternoon. The caller reported a man stealing beer and acting especially strange. MPD told NBC5 the suspect ran towards the Grandview apartments while officers chased.

“So we learn that he is armed, we engage in a foot pursuit with him through the apartment complex, lose him briefly, and then find out that he went into an apartment here,” MPD Lieutenant Geoff Kirkpatrick told NBC5, ” We surrounded that apartment and that’s when things kind of slowed down and why it took a while”.

Lt. Kirkpatrick told NBC5 once they knew no one else was in the apartment, they slowed everything down for the suspect’s safety. He said they always try to de-escalate situations like this.

MPD also told NBC5 they had North Medford High School go into “Secure status” during the standoff, but one freshman was nearby. He says when he and his friends saw the police cars go by, they wanted to know what was happening.

“They had a megaphone and they were, like, yelling telling him to come outside,” North Medford High Freshman Corey Williams told NBC5, “And then there was a bunch of, like, there were cops and they had a bunch of guns pointed at the apartment and we walked around to see if we could get a better angle on it and we heard two shots go off”.

Lt. Kirkpatrick told NBC5 the suspect eventually left the apartment, but wouldn’t show his waistband. When the suspect tried to re-enter the apartment, MPD officers used two non-lethal rounds to subdue him. The suspect is receiving medical treatment and is in custody. MPD did not immediately have the suspect’s name.