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News Release
Alexander Tomas Harrison receives 90 month prison sentence for shooting his roommate in the neck - 12/03/19

December 3, 2019

Alexander Tomas Harrison receives 90 month prison sentence for shooting his roommate in the neck

Today, Multnomah County District Attorney Rod Underhill announced that 26-year-old Alexander Tomas Harrison received a 90 month prison sentence for shooting his roommate in his neck during a fight inside their shared apartment.

The jury returned its verdict in this case on November 15, 2019 upon the conclusion of a four day trial.

The jury found Harrison guilty of one count of assault in the first degree with a firearm and one count of unlawful use of a weapon with a firearm.

During trial, the state presented evidence to show that on April 4, 2019, Harrison and his roommate went out to $1 margarita night at a local restaurant. After drinking at the bar, the two stopped purchased a bottle of rum. After consuming about ¾ of the bottle of rum at the apartment, the two men got into an altercation.

At approximately 10 p.m. on April 4, 2019, Portland Police received information about a shooting. Harrison placed the first 9-1-1 call and reported shooting his roommate. The second 9-1-1 call came in from the victim.

When police got on scene, Harrison flagged them down and confirmed to officers that he was the shooter.

A neighbor testified that shortly after she heard what sounded like a gun being fired, someone knocked on her door for help. It was the victim, covered in blood.

At the hospital, doctors determined the bullet had entered the victim’s chin, went through his neck and caused a cervical spine fracture. The bullet remains in the victim’s neck and will not be removed because of the risks associated with surgery.

The jury rejected Harrison’s self-defense claim made at trial.

According to Harrison’s account to police, his roommate was “raging” – throwing things around the apartment, breaking things and had pushed him into a wall.

Police searched the apartment and found it relatively clean and orderly. During the search, police found a fully loaded Ruger Security Six .357 Magnum revolver under a couch cushion.

While police were on scene investigating they learned about a social media post the victim made shortly after the shooting wherein he described being shot by Harrison. The video was shown to the jury.

Oregon’s self-defense laws are, in part, defined under ORS 161.209 and ORS 161.219.

This case was prosecuted by Multnomah County Deputy District Attorney Todd Jackson.

The Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office recognizes the Portland Police Bureau’s Gun Violence Reduction Team and PPB GVRT Detective Todd Teats for investigating this case and District Attorney Victim Advocate Tabitha Smith for the support and resources she provided the victim and his family throughout this case.

#MCDA#


Contact: Brent Weisberg, Communications Director

Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office

Phone: 503.988.6567 | Email: Brent.Weisberg@mcda.us

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