New details of SE Salem shooting emerge

Previously unreleased details of a Salem man's shooting death have emerged after the release of a Marion County Sheriff's Department probable cause document obtained by the Statesman Journal.

On March 21, Jordan Bachle died after being shot twice by Michael Newburn following an alcohol-fueled argument between Bachle and his then-fiancee Shelby Pilgrim.

Bachle, 25, Pilgrim, 24, and Newburn, 22, were roommates. The night of the shooting, Bachle and Pilgrim, who had been in an on-and-off relationship but were engaged at the time, were drinking. Newburn admitted to drinking two beers that night.

An argument between Bachle and Pilgrim made its way onto the driveway. Pilgrim was in her car and trying to leave, Bachle was trying to stop her.

Newburn came out of the house and tried to intervene, but Bachle resisted.

Newburn then went back into the house and grabbed his Ruger 9mm pistol and put it in his front pants pocket.

He went back outside and told Bachle to stop interfering with Pilgrim, but Bachle ignored him.

Newburn pulled his gun out and pointed it at Bachle, again ordering him to stop. He told Bachle that he was pointing a gun at him.

"What are you going to do with that?" Bachle said.

At this point, Newburn and Pilgrim's accounts of the shooting differ.

Newburn says Bachle came at him with a fast walk, and when Bachle was an arm's distance away, Newburn shot twice.

Pilgrim describes Bachle "only taking a step or two" before being shot.

An autopsy revealed Bachle was shot in the chest and the top of the head. Both shots had a downward trajectory.

The findings at the scene and the autopsy support Pilgrim's account of the events, the report said.

Newburn was arrested July 22 in Dallas and pleaded guilty to first degree manslaughter charges Sept. 18. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

gfriedman2@statesmanjournal.com, (503) 399-6653 or on Twitter @gordonrfriedman