The mother of a 20-year-old Medford man shot to death by U.S. marshals recalled his “beautiful spirit” during a protest vigil Saturday night.
Seppie Greico sat in a lawn chair with a blanket wrapped around her as a group of about 20 people gathered at Vogel Plaza in Medford to protest Thursday’s shooting of James “Jimmy” Georgeson.
Friends and family members of Georgeson held signs that read “Murder is Murder” and “Justice for Jimmy” on the corner of East Main Street and North Central Avenue.
“My son had a beautiful spirit,” said Greico, 46, who lives in Medford. “There is so much love pouring out for him it is unbelievable.”
Georgeson’s mother said she found out about her son’s death from a neighbor who described the scene.
“My next-door neighbor happened to be driving by Albertsons and saw the Durango and thought it might have been his dad,” said Greico. “They knew someone had been shot and I knew — I just knew.”
The 20-year-old was sent to Astoria to serve time at the Oregon Youth Authority correctional facility when he was 15, for a carving on a bench and stealing a lighter, according to Greico.
“They ruined him,” said Greico. “This is not just about my son, this is about government and justice.”
The U.S. marshals who shot Georgeson had visited Greico only four hours before the shooting, she said, reassuring her that they wanted nothing bad to happen to her son.
“They said if my son called me to give him a Xanax and to call them and they would come pick him up,” Greico said.
“They said they thought he was a gentlemen, that they had worked with him many times, they cared about him and wanted nothing bad to happen. Four hours later, the same one blew my son away.”
Greico said that her son wanted to turn himself in but was “scared to death.” She last saw her son just weeks ago, after he had left a drug rehabilitation facility, for a girl, she said.
“I don’t have a son anymore. What can I do? Support these kids in what they are doing and what they believe in,” Greico said. “They loved him enough to stand out here, so I better be here too.”
