Pastor who won AR-15 raffle may have violated Oregon law

LAKE OSWEGO, Ore. – A pastor in an affluent suburb of Portland may have run afoul of Oregon law when he transferred an AR-15 assault rifle that he won in a softball league raffle to a gun-owning friend for safekeeping without performing a background check.

Oregon State Police spokesman Capt. Bill Fugate confirmed Tuesday to The Associated Press that his agency would open an investigation.

Fugate says the decision of whether or not to charge the Rev. Jeremy Lucas, of Christ Church Episcopal Parish in Lake Oswego, would fall to the local district attorney's office.

Lucas drew national attention last week when he used $3,000 in church funds to buy as many of the raffle tickets as he could.

Lucas has said he wanted to win so he could destroy the gun.