John Kyle Donnahoo and three accomplices take plea deal offered by the prosecution

A McMinnville man is among a quartet of individuals arrested in December following an armed robbery at a local hotel, but will avoid a trial after owning up to the charges against him.

John Kyle Donnahoo, 30, pleaded guilty on May 8 in Yamhill County Circuit Court to single counts of first-degree attempted robbery and unlawful use of a firearm. Under state statutes, the robbery charge could earn Donahoo 10 years in prison, while the firearm offense has a maximum sentence of five years.

All told, the defendant could incur more than $275,000 in fines in addition to the prison sentence. However, because Donahoo received a court-appointed attorney, it’s unlikely he would pay any fines meted against him.

In a plea agreement signed by Donnahoo’s counsel, Salem attorney Ted Coran, as well as the prosecutor in the case, Deputy District Attorney Benjamin Donner, Donnahoo acknowledged his part in the crime:

“On or about 12/19/2024, I did attempt to forceably (sic) take and keep by means of a firearm, money having a value greater than $100 from R.L.,” he wrote.
Sentencing is set for May 14 in Judge Cynthia Easterday’s court.

A robbery plan gone awry

Newberg-Dundee police apprehended the four suspects on Dec. 19 at the Best Western Hotel at 2211 Portland Road after responding to a report of an armed robbery.

“A hotel guest reported being robbed at gunpoint by four individuals,” a release from the department said, adding that the uninjured victim aided in the ensuing investigation by providing descriptions of the suspects to police dispatchers.

Shortly after the robbery was reported, an officer witnessed a vehicle leaving the parking lot of the hotel. The officer stopped the vehicle, detained the four occupants and subsequently arrested them after finding a firearm, narcotics, drug paraphernalia and property allegedly stolen from the victim, who knew two of the alleged assailants.

Arrested were Donnahoo; Michala Ann Brown, 34, of Portland; Adrian Michael Lambright, 34, of McMinnville; and Emily Marie Bojorcas, 30, of McMinnville. Past court records indicate that all four defendants have had ongoing run-ins with the law and had been arrested on drug, theft, assault and other charges in the past.

The four suspects were charged with first-degree charges of robbery, kidnapping and conspiracy to commit a robbery, as well as delivery of controlled substances charges after traces of meth were found at the scene. The victim claimed the quartet had ransacked his room and stole $400 to $500 and his cell phone.

Donnahoo was also detained on an outstanding warrant issued by the U.S. Marshal’s Office following a February 2023 incident in McMinnville where one person died and six others were hospitalized after using cocaine laced with fentanyl supplied by Donnahoo.

Accomplices also plead guilty and are sentenced

According to court records Brown and Bojorcas also entered guilty pleas in early May, admitting to the charges under advisement from their counsel and in negotiations with the prosecution. The pair were sentenced to 60 months in prison with three years of post-prison supervision on the robbery charge, and a single count of unlawful delivery of meth.

Lambright pleaded guilty in early May to a single count of third-degree robbery, which could net her 16 to 18 months in prison under state statutes. She is set for sentencing in early July.