QuickTake:

Oregon’s Asian-American community has concerns after Gov. Tina Kotek’s office denied an extradition request from Lane County for a suspect allegedly involved in a burglary ring that targeted Asian households.

Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek, pictured here in a January 2025 press conference, said she will not extradite a suspect from Texas wanted by Lane County in connection with burglaries targeting the area’s Asian-American community. Credit: Office of Gov. Tina Kotek / Flickr

Gov. Tina Kotek denied a request from the Lane County district attorney to extradite a suspect in Texas wanted in connection with burglaries that targeted the Asian-American community in the region.  

Kotek’s decision disappointed the prosecutor and the Asian-American community, which is reeling from the burglaries, which targeted its members in Eugene and Springfield since last year.

The burglaries were the work of a sophisticated multistate ring that has targeted affluent Asian people in Oregon, Idaho and Washington, according to police statements and court documents. The burglaries targeted more than a dozen Lane County victims and prosecutors believe the ring committed more than 100 thefts in all three states.

The suspect was captured in Texas, Lane County District Attorney Christopher Parosa said. 

“I was disappointed in the governor’s decision not to extradite,” Parosa said Thursday in an email to Lookout Eugene-Springfield. “That is an important case to the feeling of safety and security of our local Asian community members, and the Lane County District Attorney’s Office remains committed to prosecution of that individual.”

Parosa said the governor’s office chose not to pay for the extradition because the person was in the process of being deported by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and had an ICE hold. Authorities didn’t release the individual’s name or country of origin, though court records for other suspects in the same ring identify the individuals as Colombian nationals. 

In a statement Thursday, the nonprofit Asian American Council of Oregon thanked Eugene and Springfield police for their work and commended Parosa. But the organization also expressed disappointment in the decision not to extradite the person. 

“It is disappointing to learn that the State of Oregon recently declined to support the extradition of one of the suspects from this crime ring,” the group said in a statement. “We believe that crime targeting victims on the basis of race should be a high priority for our state, particularly given the continuing nature of such crime and the impact on our Asian American community.”

The group encouraged the public and Kotek to “look at ways to meaningfully support and include our community in decisions such as this.” 

“It is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month,” the group added. “We hope our state leaders can collaborate with us to ensure the safety and inclusion of all Oregon residents.”

Roxy Mayer, a spokesperson for the governor’s office, said in email that the extradition didn’t move forward because the fugitive is in custody in Texas with an ICE hold and the Lane County District Attorney’s office reported “no extenuating circumstances that would warrant a change in the procedure.”

The governor’s office has latitude in whether to approve a county’s extradition request from out of the state and can take into account factors such as cost. Kotek recently came under criticism for initially denying a request to extradite a suspect accused of embezzling from Eugene Weekly. Kotek’s office later reversed that decision and decided to bring the altweekly’s former business manager from Ohio back to Oregon to face charges, the Oregonian reported. 

Parosa, the district attorney, said his office will keep the warrant in the burglary case active. If the suspect returns to the United States and is contacted by law enforcement, “we will, once again, request funding to bring him back to this community to be held accountable for his crimes.”

“The governor understands the seriousness of this issue to the AAPI community,” Mayer said in a statement. “She recognizes the harm done and the fear these crimes have caused. She believes every person should feel and be safe in their communities, and crime that undermines that public safety is unacceptable.”

Mayer said the governor’s office cannot comment further on the issue. 

Long-running case with widespread victims

The burglaries targeting people of Asian descent have attracted widespread attention in the community and law enforcement in recent months — both in Lane County and beyond. 

But the Eugene Police Department also drew criticism from the Asian American community for not doing more to inform residents about the crimes. In a January forum, Eugene Police Chief Chris Skinner acknowledged the department should have done more outreach alongside the investigation.

“And that’s just a swing and a miss by the Eugene Police Department and a lesson learned,” he said in the forum supported by AACO and Eugene-Springfield NAACP. “We should have connected with this group much more privately, sharing what was going on as opposed to airing this out in the general public media.”

In June 2024, the Eugene Police Department said it arrested six burglary suspects who are suspected of being part of a multistate residential burglary ring. At the time, police said contact may start with a female suspect casually knocking on the door or with suspects wearing construction vests or Amazon delivery vests to blend in. 

In February, four other suspects were arrested and charged with similar burglaries in Washington County. Court records show the burglary ring’s reach is wide.

“Law enforcement suspects this group of committing over 30 residential burglaries in Oregon and possibly more than 100 in the tri-state area,” prosecutors wrote in court papers. 

Court records detail their strategies: The defendants would approach victims in an Asian grocery market or H-Mart, follow them to their residence and start monitoring their routines. 

During break-ins, they would shatter sliding glass doors and use Wi-Fi jammers to disable any potential security systems before stealing valuables, including cash and jewelry. 

Washington County court records detail a widespread state investigation, with search warrants executed in Sunriver and GPS trackers put on vehicles during the investigation. 

Ben Botkin covers politics and policy in Lane County. He has worked as a journalist since 2003, most recently at the Oregon Capital Chronicle, where he covered justice, health and human services and documented regional efforts to combat fentanyl addiction. Botkin has worked in statehouses in Idaho, Nevada, Oklahoma and, of course, Oregon. When he's not working, you'll find him road tripping across the West, hiking or surfing along the Oregon Coast.