Boise man arrested in Oregon on suspicion of murder and battery charges in Idaho
A Boise man was arrested in Oregon last month on suspicion of murder and battery charges dating from December 2020, according to Boise police.
Lance Garver, 51, was arrested on Aug. 26 by Columbia County, Oregon, sheriff’s deputies on suspicion of felony second-degree murder and aggravated battery charges, as well as a misdemeanor charge of providing false information to police, according to a Thursday news release from the Boise Police Department.
On Dec. 10, 2020, Boise police responded to a report of a battery at a residence, the release said. Officers found two injured adult males who were taken to a hospital for treatment. The men knew each other, police said, and investigators with BPD Violent Crimes determined that Garver had been involved in the fight.
One of the injured males was treated and released, but the second man, Steven Ochoa, 68, died in the hospital in January 2021, according to the Ada County Coroner’s office. In a Friday release, the coroner’s office said Ochoa died of “blunt force trauma.”
“Several months later, after a complete and thorough investigation and after a final decision on cause of death by the medical examiner, the deceased man’s death was determined to be a murder,” the Thursday police news release said.
Police passed the investigation on to the Ada County Prosecutor’s Office, and a warrant was issued for Garver’s arrest. Garver is in the Columbia County Jail, pending extradition to Idaho, the release said.
Second-degree murder charges are punishable by a minimum of 10 years in prison, while aggravated battery is punishable by up to 15 years imprisonment.
This story was originally published September 2, 2021 at 12:25 PM.
