Hillsboro, Oregon. On May 24, 2023, Judge Eric Butterfield awarded restitution in the amount of $1,157,967 ($1,087,466 economic loss and $70,501 attorney’s fees and costs) to the victim’s estate. On November 9, 2021, a Washington County jury found Tracy Cloud guilty of second degree murder for shooting and killing her estranged husband Philip Cloud in their shared home. On November 16, 2021, Judge Butterfield sentenced the defendant to life in prison, with a minimum of 25 years.
Because the defendant and Philip Cloud were still married at the time of the murder, and Philip Cloud died without a will, the defendant was the primary beneficiary of Philip Cloud’s estate as his spouse. Philip Cloud’s niece, Ruth Munger, hired her own attorneys to prevent the defendant from financially benefiting from murdering Philip Cloud. Today’s judgment against the defendant is another demonstration of justice by holding the defendant financially accountable for cutting Philip Cloud’s life short.
HILLSBORO, Ore.- On May 23, 2023, Ronald Terry Stephens, age 42, of Portland, was convicted by a Washington County jury of two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted first-degree murder, two counts of first-degree burglary, two counts of second-degree kidnapping, two counts of unlawful use of a firearm, and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. The case was prosecuted by Chief Deputy DA Jeff Lesowski and Deputy DA Alyssa Camp before Judge Andrew Erwin.
Stephens will be sentenced on July 5, 2023. He faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison.
At noon on Thursday, December 16, 2021, Stephens drove to the apartment of his ex-girlfriend Lacy Kitchens, age 26, on Greenburg Rd. & 96th Ave. in Tigard. He forced open the front door to the apartment and kicked in the victim’s locked bedroom door, finding Ms. Kitchens inside with her new boyfriend, Frank Delgado-Falcon, age 45. Stephens shot Mr. Delgado-Falcon and Ms. Kitchens each twice in the head with a 9mm handgun, killing them instantly. He then kicked in the bedroom door of the victim’s roommates, intending to kill them, but those individuals hid in their bedroom closet and remained unseen. Stephens fled the scene but was arrested later that same night with his fiancé at a Fred Meyer store in Sandy, Oregon. Lacy Kitchens’ blood was found on Stephens’ shoe and video surveillance placed him at the scene of the murders. The investigation also revealed that two weeks earlier Stephens had burglarized the same apartment looking for Ms. Kitchens and Mr. Delgado, and had kidnapped and menaced the roommates with a gun on that earlier date.
During the trial, Stephens’ fiancé, Jaquina Shelonda Anderson, age 31, failed to appear as a witness after being summoned by subpoena. It was learned that Stephens, from jail, had directed another person to help Anderson avoid law enforcement. A warrant has been issued for Anderson's arrest for contempt of court and her whereabouts remain unknown.
The Washington County DA’s Office would like to acknowledge the outstanding investigative work by the Tigard Police, the Washington County Major Crimes Team, the Oregon State Police Forensic Lab, and the Oregon State Medical Examiner’s Office.