Alleged Greenbrae Carjacker Is Primary Suspect in an Oregon Murder

Oregon State Police said this week that a man arrested in Greenbrae on suspicion of carjacking, attempted carjacking of a Mill Valley woman and kidnapping in both Sonoma and Marin counties – who reportedly sympathized with the Boston Marathon bombings and sought asylum from the Russian consulate – also is a suspect in a homicide in Oregon.

Jeffrey Griffin Boyce, 30, of North Bend, Ore. is the primary suspect in the murder of a woman at the Winchester Wayfinding Point along U.S. Highway 101 three miles south of Reedsport, Ore., Oregon State Police Lt. Steve Mitchell said in a statement.

Investigators have identified the woman and are waiting for confirmation from the Oregon State Medical Examiner's Office, Mitchell said.

A couple found the woman's body around 8:20 a.m. Sunday, and the initial investigation indicates the homicide occurred that morning, Oregon State Police said.

On Monday, Boyce was arrested in Marin after a chaotic series of incidents that started in Rohnert Park when Boyce kidnapped a man and forced him to drive in the victim's BMW to a church then back to the shopping center around 4:30 p.m., according to Rohnert Park Police.

Boyce then allegedly carjacked the BMW and drove to Marin. San Francisco police informed Bay Area law enforcement agencies Boyce was reportedly mentally ill and was in possession of firearms.

San Francisco police also were informed by Boyce's mother that her son might be seeking asylum at the Russian consulate in San Francisco. Police who interviewed his mother indicated Boyce seemed to sympathize with the accused Boston bombers, according to a KPIX report.

Boyce then allegedly tried to carjack Mill Valley resident Tina Humphrey's 2013 Toyota Tacoma in the Bon Air Shopping Center in Greenbrae around 6:30 p.m. Monday by pointing a rifle at her head, but Humphrey was able to calm Boyce down and he ran away when he heard approaching police sirens (see video above).

The Central Marin Police Authority then arrested Boyce after he allegedly tried to break into a residence on Elizabeth Circle in Greenbrae, Central Marin Police Authority Cpl. Sethi Jervan said.

"We got the call and Central Marin Police officers responded quickly. This is a situation we've trained for and it was almost technically perfect," Central Marin Police Captain Jim Shirk said.

Boyce is being held under no bail in the Marin County Jail on six felony charges that include attempted carjacking, false imprisonment, threatening to commit a crime and attempted first-degree burglary.

Rohnert Park Department of Public Safety Sgt. Aaron Johnson said Rohnert Park police found several hundred bullets and six 30-round magazines in the truck Boyce left behind in Rohnert Park, Sgt. Aaron Johnson said.

"I don't know why, between all the freeway exits between Novato and San Francisco, he took the Drake exit," Shirk said.

–Bay City News Service contributed to this report. Copyright © 2013 by Bay City News, Inc. – Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited.

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