A Portland cannabis store worker who stared down three masked robbers at gunpoint, shot them, and then called 911 just walked out of court a free man – after standing trial for murder.
According to reporter John Adams of KGW News, 35-year-old Jason Steiner was acquitted on all charges stemming from an October 3, 2024 shooting at the La Mota cannabis shop in North Portland.
Gun-rights commentator Colion Noir says the case is a chilling example of how, in some cities, “you can do EVERYTHING right… and still become the criminal.”
Robbery At A North Portland Cannabis Shop
John Adams reports that Steiner was the only employee on duty at La Mota that night.
Surveillance video, described by Adams and replayed in Colion Noir’s breakdown, shows three masked men enter the store and hold Steiner at gunpoint.
Noir asks viewers to imagine it from Steiner’s perspective: you’re just doing your job when three armed men rush in, put a gun to your head, and force you out of your own store.
According to Adams, the suspects forced Steiner out the front door while they appeared to grab products from the shop.
At that point, the state later argued, Steiner could have simply left.
But that’s not what he did.
Thirteen Shots, Two Suspects Dead
Adams reports that after being forced outside, the surveillance video shows Steiner walk around the corner and retrieve a semi-automatic handgun from his bag.
He then returns to the storefront and fires 13 shots through a window of the building.
Two of the alleged robbers, identified in Adams’ reporting as 20-year-old Tahir Burley and 18-year-old King Lawrence, were pronounced dead at the scene.
A third suspect escaped.
In his video, Colion Noir describes the event more bluntly, saying Steiner “fights for his life, kills all three, and then somehow becomes the one put on trial for murder.”
Adams adds important detail from internal footage and court documents.
He notes that video inside the store showed none of the suspects holding guns in their hands at the moment Steiner fired, and none appeared to shoot back.
According to Adams’ reporting, one suspect, Burley, drew his gun after he’d already been hit and before he stopped moving.
So the jury had to weigh two hard realities at once.
A man who had just been held at gunpoint fired first.
But he fired into a store where, at that moment, no one was visibly pointing a gun at him.
The 911 Call And The DA’s Theory
After the shots, Adams reports that Steiner ran across the street and called 911.
“I’m at the La Mota across the street; I had three people try to rob me. I shot 3 of them,” Steiner told the dispatcher, according to Adams’ article.
Later, court documents cited by Adams say Steiner told police he fired because he feared the suspects would “hunt him down.”
He explained that he’s “a large man” who couldn’t outrun the three if they decided to come after him.
He also told investigators, Adams reports, that his car keys were still inside the building and that he was afraid the suspects would get his car and track him down later.
Throughout the trial, Adams says, prosecutors argued that the shooting was not justified.
The state’s position, as summarized by Adams and replayed in Noir’s video, was that Steiner could have simply left once he was pushed out the door and removed from immediate danger.
Noir absolutely unloads on that logic.
He says the state’s argument boiled down to: “You should have just left… left what? Left his place of employment. Left his livelihood. Left behind armed robbers who already put a gun to his head and might come after him later or worse, somebody else.”
From Noir’s perspective, the idea that Steiner owed the robbers distance or mercy after they created the danger is “insane.”
A Murder Trial Over Self-Defense
Adams reports that Steiner was arrested days after the shooting, after turning himself in, and was charged with:
- Two counts of first-degree murder
- One count of attempted murder
- Three counts of unlawful use of a weapon
He pleaded not guilty to all of them.
In opening statements, Adams says prosecutors told jurors the shooting was not self-defense.
Steiner’s attorney, Ted Occhialino, argued the opposite—claiming Steiner acted in lawful self-defense after being held at gunpoint and fearing future retaliation.
Noir calls the whole case a “legal nightmare” and a warning for every concealed carrier in America.
He points out that Steiner didn’t start the confrontation.
“He didn’t start this. He didn’t escalate this. He didn’t turn this into a life-or-death situation. They did,” Noir says.
He also acknowledges that tactically, some people might argue that going back toward the danger increased the risk.
But legally, he says, charging Steiner with murder was “ridiculous.”
This is where the divide really shows.
The state framed Steiner as someone who chose to re-engage instead of walking away.
The defense – and Noir – see him as a man who refused to leave his fate, and possibly his future safety, in the hands of three masked gunmen.
Jury Sees Self-Defense, Not Murder
After a week and a half trial, Adams reports, the jury finally delivered its verdict.
On Count One, murder in the first degree for the death of Tahir Burley: not guilty.
On Count Three, murder in the first degree for the death of King Lawrence: not guilty.
Adams says Steiner was also found not guilty on all three counts of unlawful use of a weapon and the single count of attempted murder.
In KGW’s video, you can see Steiner overcome with emotion as the verdict is read and his lawyers reach out to comfort him.
Noir calls the outcome exactly what it should have been.
“Not guilty. And damn right,” he says, insisting this case was “the purest definition of self-defense.”
But he doesn’t let the system off the hook just because the jury got it right in the end.
Noir argues that the very fact Steiner had to sit in court and listen to the words “murder charges” after being kidnapped at gunpoint is “crazy.”
He warns that in some places, “the system will punish you for not dying politely.”
It’s a harsh line.
But in this case, it’s hard to ignore how close Steiner came to trading one life-or-death fight in a dispensary for another one in a courtroom.
Colion Noir: Your ZIP Code Can Decide Your Fate
The deeper message in Noir’s video is about geography and politics.
He says bluntly that where you live can determine whether you walk free after a defensive shooting – or end up fighting for your freedom in front of a jury.
He suggests that if this same case had happened in Texas, Steiner might never have been charged at all, much less dragged through a full murder trial.
In his view, Portland’s political climate and a district attorney who “doesn’t like guns or self-defense” made prosecution more likely.
You don’t have to agree with every part of Noir’s critique to see his core point.
Two people can view the exact same video – three masked men, a gun to the head, a worker forced out, then a burst of shots – and reach totally different conclusions based on their views of guns, crime, and self-defense.
That’s what makes this case so unnerving for many gun owners.
You can follow the law as you understand it, survive an armed robbery, immediately call 911, and still wake up to a warrant with your name on it.
Noir puts it this way: “A DA’s opinion of your self-defense can matter more than the facts of your self-defense. That is terrifying.”
What This Case Means For Armed Citizens
Steiner walked out of court a free man.
But nothing about what he went through was “easy.”
John Adams shows the factual backbone of the story—surveillance video, charging documents, courtroom tension, and the moment of acquittal.
Colion Noir lays over that a warning: self-defense doesn’t end when the shooting stops. Sometimes that’s when the real fight starts.
This case shows just how quickly a defender can go from victim to defendant.
It also shows why anyone who carries a gun for protection needs to think beyond the moment of the encounter.
You have to understand your local laws.
You have to understand your local politics.
And you have to accept that, in some jurisdictions, a jury might ultimately save you – but only after a prosecutor tries very hard not to.
In Portland, a worker who stared down three armed robbers, fired 13 shots, and survived ended up fighting for his freedom in a murder trial.
Thanks to the jury, Jason Steiner didn’t “get away with murder,” as Noir puts it.
He survived one. Then survived the legal one, too.
Raised in a small Arizona town, Kevin grew up surrounded by rugged desert landscapes and a family of hunters. His background in competitive shooting and firearms training has made him an authority on self-defense and gun safety. A certified firearms instructor, Kevin teaches others how to properly handle and maintain their weapons, whether for hunting, home defense, or survival situations. His writing focuses on responsible gun ownership, marksmanship, and the role of firearms in personal preparedness.
