HILLSBORO, Ore.- On March 5, 2020, Judge Ted Sims sentenced Fidencio Diaz-Eguiza to 70 months in prison following his convictions by a jury on charges of second-degree assault and unlawful use of a weapon. Senior Deputy District Attorney John Gerhard prosecuted the case against Mr. Diaz-Eguiza.

On February 10, 2019, the defendant was at his home in Hillsboro, Oregon. He was watching television along with the victim, in the family’s living room. He then stepped out of the room briefly. When he returned, he walked towards the victim with one arm concealed behind his back. The defendant then pointed a semi-automatic handgun at the victim and fired one round. The bullet hit her in the neck area. Before shooting the victim, the defendant said something to the effect of, “I told you when I was ready to leave, you would come with me.”

A separate family member then tackled the defendant to the ground and disarmed him. The defendant repeated his statement to the victim once again.

Hillsboro Police responded to the scene and discovered one additional round remaining in the weapon. After an extensive search, they located the defendant hiding in the garage.

The Washington County District Attorney’s Office would like to acknowledge Detective Anthony Johnson and members of the Hillsboro Police Department for securing the scene following the shooting, for locating the suspect and for their investigative work on this case.

The Washington County District Attorney’s Office believes that domestic violence offenders must be held accountable for their actions. If you feel that you may be a victim of physical, emotional, verbal or sexual abuse, please call the Family Justice Center of Washington County at 503-469-8620. You can also contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233.

Mr. Diaz-Eguiza will be transferred to the Oregon Department of Corrections to begin serving his sentence. He will be subject to three years of post-prison supervision upon his release.

*Update*

The defendant in this case was originally convicted under a non-unanimous jury decision. The case had to be retried after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Ramos v. Louisiana that non-unanimous verdicts in state trials for serious criminal offenses violated the Sixth Amendment right to a fair trial.

On August 6, 2021, a Washington County jury found the defendant not guilty of second-degree assault and unlawful use of a weapon. 

Media contact information
Stephen Mayer
Public Information Officer
971-708-8219
March 06, 2020