A federal judge signaled on Monday that a U.S. DEA agent will have criminal charges against him dropped after he caused a fatal collision with a Salem cyclist while pursuing a suspected drug trafficker. The decision came after a day-long hearing in federal court where for the first time agent Samuel T. Landis, 39, spoke for himself and not through lawyers. His attorneys argued that he is entitled to immunity because he was exercising his duties as a federal agent and reasonably believed that he could safely run a stop sign just before the crash occurred. Prosecutors’ claim that Landis isn’t immune from federal prosecution rested on showing that no reasonable officer in his position would have found it necessary to run the stop sign at the intersection of Leslie and High Streets. After the proceedings in Eugene, U.S. District Court Judge Michael McShane said that Marion County prosecutors hadn’t met that burden. The cyclist and state worker, Marganne Allen, 53, had several relatives and friends in the courtroom. Landis, dressed in a dark red suit with his hair tied in a ponytail, spoke softly throughout his testimony as he recounted the fatal crash on March 28, 2023. He described slowing down as he approached the stop sign and ducking forward to get a clear picture of the intersection. He said he “fully” believed he could proceed safely through the intersection without stopping and that he needed to do so to keep up with his team. One of his attorneys, David Angeli, asked when he realized there had been a collision. Landis turned red and appeared to be holding back tears. Landis said he felt something strike the driver’s side of his Dodge Ram pickup truck. He got out and saw Allen and her bicycle on the ground.  The agent sniffled and wiped tears from his eyes as he described kneeling by Allen and realizing that she was unresponsive. He asked someone nearby to call 911 before learning that they already had. When an ambulance arrived, he said he removed himself from the situation so that “the medics could do their job.” “I certainly would not have entered the intersection had I known that Ms. Allen was there,” he said during cross examination. The oral argument on Monday followed nearly a year of back-and-forth between Landis’ attorneys and the Marion County District Attorney’s Office.  The agent’s attorneys successfully argued last December to have the case moved to federal court so Landis could argue he is immune from prosecution as a federal agent acting in an official capacity. The immunity defense does not exist in state court, where a Marion County grand jury indicted Landis last September. His lawyers then began pushing for the case to be dismissed, arguing that Landis believed at the time that he needed to run a stop sign to continue pursuing the drug courier. That resulted in the proceedings on Monday. Defense attorneys called as witnesses six DEA agents and Salem police officers who were part of the surveillance team on the day of the crash, including Landis himself. They testified that at the time, an informant bought 1,000 fentanyl pills from the suspected drug courier involved with a drug trafficking organization based out of Mexico. Landis and several other officers followed the suspect, switching places to avoid being detected. But the suspect made a sudden turn onto Southeast Mission Street heading east, and several officers missed the turn. The agents and officers testified that they often have to violate traffic laws while conducting surveillance.  They said that while the mission itself wasn’t urgent, the sense of urgency can be heightened when officers lose track of a suspect. They also said that their only mission that day after the controlled drug purchase was to identify the suspect, and eventually their residence and locations where they may be stashing drugs. The defense attorneys sought to poke holes in prosecutors’ earlier arguments that because there were no plans to arrest the suspect that day, the surveillance was not urgent. Officers testified that arresting the suspect at the time could have thwarted their efforts to dismantle the larger drug operation. Officers who worked with Landis also testified that they had never seen him violate DEA policy or his duties. The agency’s policy allows agents to violate traffic laws “in certain enforcement situations” but says that the safety of the public and the agent “have higher priority than any enforcement activity.” Prosecutors called several officers to testify, as well as a resident who lived near the intersection and a Keizer Police Department officer who reconstructed the crash.  They focused on Landis’ decision to proceed into the intersection without stopping or and without a full view of what could have been coming his way, due to a retaining wall and brush that obscured his vision.  During closing arguments, Marion County Deputy District Attorney David Wilson compared Landis’ conduct to another DEA agent, Todd Hoagland, who didn’t come to a full stop but slowed down at the intersection shortly before Landis passed through it.  “He did it in an objectively reasonable way,” the prosecutor said of Hoagland. “That is what a reasonable person would do.” Angeli, one of Landis’ attorneys, responded that such a comparison “is what federal immunity is designed to prevent.” The courtroom was silent as McShane, the federal judge, explained his decision. He said that in “a more just” society, a jury would decide whether the case should proceed. But federal law requires that he make that decision. He found that Landis “was performing his official duties” and believed it was “necessary and proper” under the circumstances to run the stop sign. He said that prosecutors had not met their burden of proving that no other reasonable officer would have done the same. The judge said he would issue a final order in the coming weeks. If he sustains his own findings, the single charge of criminally negligent homicide will be dropped and Landis will no longer face potential prison time. The judge concluded by apologizing to anyone in the courtroom who disagreed with his decision. RELATED COVERAGE: DEA agent was “unreasonable” in running stop sign, prosecutors argue DEA agent seeks formal immunity for role in fatal cyclist collision Federal judges clear way for DEA agent to claim immunity New records show drug cartel ties, DEA agent’s actions leading to fatal crash DEA agent faces state felony charge in death of Salem cyclist Video shows driver ran stop sign in fatal collision with Salem cyclist Contact reporter Ardeshir Tabrizian: [email protected] or 503-929-3053. A MOMENT MORE, PLEASE– If you found this story useful, consider subscribing to Salem Reporter if you don’t already. Work such as this, done by local professionals, depends on community support from subscribers. Please take a moment and sign up now – easy and secure: SUBSCRIBE. The post Judge signals he will drop charges against DEA agent in fatal Salem collision appeared first on Salem Reporter.