FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE     

MARCH 19, 2019

Jury finds Russell Courtier guilty of murdering Larnell Bruce Jr.

Today, Multnomah County District Attorney Rod Underhill announced that a jury returned a guilty verdict, on all counts, in regards to 40-year-old Russell Courtier.

The jury found Courtier guilty of murder, felony and hit and run, and intimidation in the second degree.

Intimidation in the second degree is Oregon’s hate crime statute, along with intimidation in the first degree.

Opening statements in this case were presented on March 7, 2019. The jury began deliberating March 18, 2019 and returned its verdict on March 19, 2019.

On August 10, 2016, Gresham Police officers and detectives assigned to the East Multnomah County Major Crimes Team responded to the intersection of Southeast 188th Avenue and Southeast Burnside Street in Gresham, Oregon to investigate a vehicular hit and run crash involving a pedestrian.

Law enforcement arrived and located 19-year-old Larnell Bruce Jr. suffering from critical injuries. He was transported to the hospital where he later died.

During the trial, the state presented evidence that showed Courtier, a European Kindred gang member, and Mr. Bruce got into a physical altercation outside a convenience store.

Multnomah County Senior Deputy District Attorney David Hannon, who prosecuted this case, told the jury that Mr. Bruce attempted to leave the area when Courtier got into a jeep belonging to Colleen Hunt.

According to the state’s theory of the case, the surveillance video entered into evidence showed Courtier driving the Jeep towards Mr. Bruce. The video showed Mr. Bruce taking evasive maneuvers on foot in an attempt to escape Courtier and the red Jeep, Hannon told the jury.

Witnesses who testified told the jury that Courtier’s actions to run down Mr. Bruce seemed “intentional.”

On March 13, 2019, four business days after opening statements, Hunt, 37, pleaded guilty to one count of manslaughter in the first degree and admitted that she aided and abetted Courtier in causing the death of Mr. Bruce.

In her guilty plea she admitted that the day Mr. Bruce died, she was in a relationship with Courtier. During that time, she knew Courtier was an active member of the prison gang European Kindred. Furthermore, by pleading guilty, she admitted that on August 10, 2016, she saw Courtier get into a fight with Mr. Bruce. She also admitted that she allowed Courtier to use her Jeep to chase down Mr. Bruce in Courtier's attempt to kill Mr. Bruce.

At this time, no sentencing date has been scheduled for either Courtier or Hunt.

No additional statements will be released by the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office until both Courtier and Ms. Hunt have been sentenced.

#MCDA#

Contact: Brent Weisberg, Communications Director

Phone: 503.988.6567

Email: Brent.Weisberg@mcda.us