Teacher arrested in fatal shooting

Craig A. Sjoberg, middle school teacher arrested Monday in connection with the Nov. 1 shooting death of a Tacoma man in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. (Photo courtesy Skamania County Sheriff’s Office)

A Shahala Middle School teacher was arrested Monday on suspicion of first-degree manslaughter in connection with a shooting death in Skamania County earlier this month.

Craig A. Sjoberg, 55, of Camas was held in the Nov. 1 shooting of Juan Rojas Cortez, 30, of Tacoma, according to Skamania County Undersheriff Dave Cox.

Cortez, who had been commercially picking bear grass in the Skookum Meadows area of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest, was killed by a single shot to his torso, according to reports. Two of his co-workers discovered his body and notified the authorities.

Sjoberg had been in the area hunting at the time of the incident, Cox said. That day marked the start of elk season, drawing a high number of hunters.

Cox said investigators received several tips after media reports of the case, giving detectives sufficient information to make an arrest. He did not offer further details.

“I don’t think this was an intentional homicide,” said Skamania County Prosecutor Peter Banks.

Banks said on Tuesday he was still receiving reports and declined to comment further. In Washington, first-degree manslaughter is defined as recklessly causing the death of another person.

Cox said Tuesday night he’d been asked by other officials not to disclose details of the alleged recklessness.

Sjoberg’s first appearance in Skamania County Superior Court will be Thursday. He is in custody at the Skamania County Jail in Stevenson, and bail has yet to be set.

Sjoberg, who teaches seventh-grade math, was placed on administrative leave Tuesday, pending the outcome of his criminal case, said Evergreen Public Schools spokeswoman Carol Fenstermacher.

Sjoberg has worked for the Evergreen district since August 2002. Fenstermacher said he spent a year at Covington Middle School before transferring to Shahala.

Earlier this school year, Sjoberg served as assistant coach for the school’s volleyball team. In past years, he was an assistant coach for the track team, Fenstermacher said.

Sjoberg and his woman friend, who teaches school in the Portland area, live in the 3500 block of Northwest Pacific Rim Drive, in an upscale neighborhood on the western edge of Camas.

“Super-nice guy,” neighbor Leslie Quintana said of Sjoberg on Tuesday night. “It sounds like a bad accident and I can’t imagine the circumstances. I can’t imagine he would ever do anything to harm anyone, intentionally or recklessly.”

Other neighbors on Tuesday said they weren’t surprised to hear about the arrest because police had been visiting the house for the past week.

Neighbors heard that Sjoberg was involved in a hunting accident, and on Monday night, police came to apprehend him, said Missy Shepherd, who lives across the street.

Police also towed Sjoberg’s flat-bed truck from his house Monday.

Shepherd said she hardly knows Sjoberg because the couple keeps to themselves.

“He seemed like a nice guy,” Shepherd said. “I can’t imagine him going around shooting somebody.”

Staff writer John Branton contributed to this report.