A Hermiston-area man will be arraigned this afternoon on a first-degree murder charge in the Wednesday shooting death of a Meacham man.
Joseph Aaron McIver, 22, of the Hermiston area, will be arraigned at 1:15 p.m. today in Umatilla County Circuit Court Judge Christopher Brauer.
The Umatilla/Morrow County Major Crimes Team is continuing its investigation into the shots fired near milepost 233 on the Old Oregon Trail Road, in the Meacham area. When officers arrived at the scene, they found Thadd Justin Nelson, 44, dead from a fatal shotgun wound. Shortly thereafter, the major crime team was activated. The Umatilla Tribal Police Department is the lead agency, while receiving assistance from The Oregon State Police, Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office, Morrow County Sheriff’s Office, Pendleton Police Department, Hermiston Police Department, Umatilla Police Department, Boardman Police Department, and the Umatilla County District Attorney’s Office.
An autopsy for Nelson has been scheduled for Friday morning in Portland, Oregon.
The Major Crime Team requests that any person with details about this incident report that information to the Umatilla County Dispatch Center or the Umatilla Tribal Police Department.
