June 21 (UPI) -- Authorities in Oregon said a man suspected of killing three people during a violent spree over the weekend is now in police custody.
Oen Evan Nicholson, 30, turned himself in to Milwaukee police early Sunday, Coose County District Attorney Paul Frasier said during a press conference later in the day.
"We're still not totally briefed in to his circumstances of why he turned himself in and so forth, but I can tell you he did turn himself in and there wasn't incident or trouble in taking him into custody," he said.
Police had been hunting for Nicolson when he turned himself as authorities accuse him of committing a string of violent crimes starting on Friday.
Authorities accuse Nicolson of killing his father, Charles Simms Nicolson, 83, at an Mill Casino RV park then stealing his white 2019 Dodge pickup truck that was used in a hit-and-run, killing Anthony Oyster, 74, at the scene. Linda Oyster, 73, was transported to the hospital and was in critical condition on Sunday, Frasier said.
Frasier said they found the body of the senior Nicolson after searching the trailer as it and the pickup truck used in the string of crimes were registered under his name.
The younger Nicolson is then accused of fatally shooting Jennifer L. Davidson, 47, at a marijuana dispensary, before driving the pickup to Lane County, Ore., where authorities found the vehicle crashed. In a release, the Lane County Sheriff's Office said the suspect was considered armed and dangerous.
Frasier told reporters without going into further details that authorities "believe he drove" the more than 2,000 miles from Lane County to Milwaukee.
However, the police department in Springfield, Ore., accused Nicholson in a release on Sunday of forcing Laura Johnson to drive him north in a black 2008 Honda CRV. They drove until Milwaukee where Nicolson was arrested, the authorities said.
"Laura is safe and unharmed and on her way back to Oregon," it said, adding formal charges against Nicholson in connection to the abduction of Johnson are pending.
Nicholson has so far been charged with six counts of first-degree murder for the three deaths, one count of attempted murder in the second degree, first-degree assault and two counts of failing to help a person injured in a traffic accident, Frasier said.
North Bend Mayor Jessica Engelke in the press conference Sunday expressed her sympathies for those impacted by the crimes, stating the series of events has left her town "incredibly shaken."
"This is something that you hope would never happen in your community, in the town you call home," she said.
