Security guard gets life sentence in 2021 Lowe's parking lot killing

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) -- The armed security guard who killed a 49-year-old man in the parking lot of Lowe's in Portland was sentenced to life in prison Tuesday, Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt announced.

Logan Gimbel, 30, is currently in custody in Multnomah County, but will be transferred to the Oregon Department of Corrections to serve his sentence, officials said. He has the possibility of parole after 25 years.

The jury in Multnomah County convicted Gimbel on May 9 of second-degree murder, unlawful use of a weapon and two counts of using tear gas or mace for the murder of Freddy Nelson.

They found Gimble not guilty of one count of recklessly endangering another person.

Gimbel was indicted for murdering Nelson in Portland’s East Columbia neighborhood on May 29, 2021, when Gimbel was on-duty as an armed security guard hired to patrol businesses in the Delta Park area.

At the time of the indictment, the attorney for Nelson’s family, Tom D’Amore, said Nelson was with his wife, Kari Nelson, when he was shot. D’Amore said Kari Nelson had gotten out of their truck and was walking toward the Lowe’s garden center when, for some reason, Gimbel blocked their truck with his vehicle.

“He had them pinned in there, there wasn’t anywhere to go,” said D’Amore.

At some point, Kari Nelson got back into the truck and Gimbel allegedly told Freddy Nelson he was going to “arrest him” and deployed pepper spray or mace through a window.

“He was busy walking around the driver’s side, spraying mace into the car,” said D’Amore.

The lawsuit then alleges that Gimbel opened fire, killing Freddy Nelson.