Wildhorse casino robber who shot tribal officer makes surprise plea

The trial for an Oregon man who shot a tribal police officer during a Pendleton casino robbery ended after two days when Javier Francisco Vigil, 54, pleaded guilty.

Vigil changed his plea Tuesday in Oregon District U.S. Court to attempted murder, robbery and illegally possessing a gun as a convicted felon.

On Aug. 17, 2022, Vigil, who lives in the Pendleton area, got a ride to the Wildhorse Resort & Casino on the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation.

Wearing a baseball cap, gloves and sunglasses, he walked to the cashier cage in the gaming area and handed the cashier a note demanding $1 million.

Initially, she laughed, thinking he was joking, according to court documents.

Vigil responded by pulling out a pistol from the holster on his hip and pointing it at her. He threatened to “bathe everyone in blood,” according to court documents.

The cashier also remembered him saying he “I’m f---ing God,” as she pulled out almost $70,000 from a cash drawer. She put the money on the counter, and Vigil demanded she put it in a bag, according to court documents.

While she had the cash drawer open, she hit an emergency button.

Two minutes after entering the casino, Vigil walked out with $69,000 in a clear plastic bag.

Outside he spotted a Umatilla Tribal Police Department officer behind a law enforcement vehicle and shot at the officer.

The officer shot back, hitting Vigil.

Court documents said that a Pendleton School District employee at the casino for a school event was caught in the crossfire and also was hit.

Insanity defense attempted

After Vigil was arrested, he said he was allowed to rob the casino because he was God.

He showed empathy for the cashier, saying he could tell she was scared of him and did not want to hurt her, according to court documents. He also said he did not fire directly at the officer because he did not want to hurt the officer.

During the course of the case, Vigil said he was suicidal when he robbed the casino and that people were ignoring his messages, social media posts and the music videos he made claiming to be God. He also said he wanted money to buy a new car, according to court documents.

He had stopped taking his prescribed mental health medications earlier that summer because they interfered with his ability to use fentanyl, according to a court document.

Two weeks before the robbery he acquired a gun.

Days after he got it he used it to threaten a friend in a dispute over $20. He was turned away from getting his methadone dose because he possessed a gun, according to court documents.

Before the trial, Vigil’s attorneys indicated he planned to use a defense of innocent by reason of insanity.

Vigil was diagnosed with bipolar disorder with manic episodes and psychotic features and was unable to appreciate the wrongfulness of his actions on Aug. 17, 2022, according to his defense.

On the first day of the trial in Portland Judge Michael Mosman conducted a hearing in a sealed courtroom and determined Vigil was competent to stand trial.

He is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 4 in federal court in Portland.

The chief executive officer of Wildhorse, Gary George said Wednesday that “we are very proud of the response of our employees who were faced with this challenging situation more than three years ago.”

This case was investigated by the FBI and the Umatilla Tribal Police Department, with the assistance of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Hermiston Police Department, the Pendleton Police Department, Oregon State Police, Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office, and Morrow County Sheriff’s Office.