Bio

Travis Lee Gibson was reportedly born on December 3, 1976. Public records contain little verified information about his birthplace, parents, childhood, education, or early employment. He was 23 years old and married when Joshua Michael Copp was killed in March 2000. Gibson had a previous felony conviction and was legally prohibited from possessing a firearm. Secondary case records also state that he was on parole for robbery at the time of the murder, although the publicly available Oregon Supreme Court decision does not provide the details or date of that earlier conviction.

During the week before Copp’s murder, Gibson and James Wesley Herlong had discussed robbing a sandwich shop in Eugene. Herlong later testified that Gibson carried and fired the same .45-caliber pistol eventually used to kill Copp. According to Herlong, Gibson once fired the gun through an open car window and made a statement about wanting to kill someone. Gibson denied firing the weapon and claimed that Herlong had carried it during the fatal robbery. The jury rejected Gibson’s account after considering the witness testimony, ballistics evidence, and his conduct before and after the shooting.

Murder Story

At approximately 1:00 a.m. on March 12, 2000, Gibson attended a party at his cousin’s home in Eugene, Oregon. Wendy Gates, James Wesley Herlong, and Melvin Deon Givens were also present. Gates told the group that she knew 25-year-old Joshua Michael Copp and believed he might have money because he sold marijuana. The four then agreed to rob him. Gibson offered to drive and carried a .45-caliber pistol, while Givens brought two additional handguns and gave one to Herlong.

The group arrived at Copp’s residence at approximately 5:00 a.m. Gibson and Gates approached the door because Copp knew Gates and was likely to let her inside. After Copp admitted them and locked the door, Gibson secretly unlocked it and flashed the porch light as a signal for Givens and Herlong to enter. Gates returned to the vehicle while the three armed men confronted Copp in the hallway. They forced him toward his bedroom, demanded his money and firearm, and took a gun stored beneath his mattress. Gibson also took Copp’s wallet. Copp’s hands and eyes were then covered with tape.

When Copp told them that his roommate, Steve Eugene Johnson, was in another bedroom, Herlong and Givens kicked open the door. They restrained Johnson and searched the room but found little of value. Johnson broke free and tried to escape through a window, but Gibson and Givens caught him and struck him with their pistols. After restraining him again, the offenders moved Copp and Johnson into the living room, placed them on the floor, and continued kicking and beating them. During the assault, Gibson announced that he intended to shoot both victims in the head.

Johnson managed to break free a second time and ran toward the front door. Gibson and Givens fired approximately five or six shots at him from close range. Johnson fell through the doorway and onto the front lawn but survived his injuries. Givens and Herlong fled to the waiting vehicle, leaving Gibson alone inside the residence with Copp. Witnesses then heard one final gunshot. Gibson emerged shortly afterward and told the others that he believed he had shot one of the victims in the neck or shoulder. Ballistics testing later established that Copp had been killed with Gibson’s .45-caliber pistol.

The group stole approximately $200, marijuana, scales, a knife, and firearms from the residence. Gibson, Givens, and Herlong returned to Gibson’s home and divided the stolen money. Gibson told his wife that they had killed two people, although Johnson had survived. Gibson, Gates, and Herlong travelled by bus to Reno, Nevada, the following morning. While there, Gibson pawned the .45-caliber pistol used in Copp’s murder. He later returned to Eugene and was arrested.

Gibson admitted participating in the robbery but denied shooting Copp. He claimed that he had been a passive participant and accused Herlong of carrying the murder weapon. Prosecutors presented evidence that Gibson helped organize and lead the robbery, carried the pistol, threatened to kill both victims, participated in the shooting of Johnson, and was the only offender still inside when Copp was fatally shot. A jury convicted Gibson in 2001 of aggravated murder, felony murder, attempted murder, first-degree assault, first-degree robbery, first-degree burglary, and being a felon in possession of a firearm. He initially received two death sentences based on two aggravated-murder counts involving the same victim.

On June 3, 2005, the Oregon Supreme Court upheld Gibson’s convictions but ruled that the two aggravated-murder counts had to be merged into one conviction and that only one death sentence could be imposed for Copp’s murder. In August 2012, a post-conviction court vacated the death sentence after finding that Gibson’s trial lawyer had failed to investigate and present sufficient mitigating evidence during the penalty phase. Gibson later accepted a sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. His aggravated-murder conviction remains valid, but he is no longer under a death sentence.