A gunman involved in a random shooting outside a downtown Vancouver nightclub in March pleaded guilty Thursday in Clark County Superior Court to attempted murder and assault.
Darryl E. Humphrey Jr., 21, of Portland shot bystander Jabril Brandon in the left foot early March 13 as Brandon was trying to leave the scene of a confrontation outside of the Q Nightclub & Lounge at Main and East Seventh streets, where Humphrey had been brandishing a small-caliber handgun.
Vancouver police responded to the scene and shot Humphrey in the right hip after he refused to put down his weapon.
In an agreement with prosecutors, Humphrey entered guilty pleas Thursday to charges of second-degree attempted murder and second-degree assault. In exchange, Deputy Prosecutor James Smith downgraded the charges from first-degree attempted murder and first-degree assault.
Humphrey faces a sentence of between nine years and more than 15 years in prison for the crimes.
Judge Suzan Clark ordered a presentence investigation in which a Department of Corrections officer will recommend a sentence within than range. Humphrey’s next hearing is set for April 3 for a progress report on the presentence investigation.
Humphrey has no other felony criminal history but has a checkered misdemeanor record, said his court-appointed defense attorney, Jack Peterson. He was wanted on a warrant out of Clark County District Court on suspicion of third-degree theft and bail jumping at the time of his arrest.
According to court papers, Brandon, no age or hometown available, said he was with his brothers and friends outside the Q Nightclub & Lounge, 704 Main St. in downtown Vancouver, when a fight broke out among other clubgoers. Brandon’s brother tried to break up the fight and was attacked near Main and East Seventh streets.
When Brandon went to help his brother, he said he was confronted by a gunman. Brandon attempted to leave, but as he crossed the street near the northeast corner of the intersection, he heard a gunshot and felt pain in his left foot, court papers say. Police, who already were on scene for the disturbance outside the nightclub, said they heard the gunshot at about 1:20 a.m.
In a police interview, Humphrey said he brought a small-caliber handgun to the nightclub in his right front pants pocket, according to court records.
He said he wasn’t involved in any altercations at the club. He said he fired at the victim because the victim had “pointed at him in an aggressive manner,” court papers say.
Adrian Kallimanis, owner of Q Nightclub & Lounge, said the nightclub isn’t open on Wednesday nights. The attack happened in the early morning hours of a Thursday. Hence, he said, Humphrey had to have been at another nightclub, one that would have been open on a Wednesday night.
“We are only Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights,” Kallimanis said. “We’ve been trying to deal with that since the shooting. Every time something bad happens it gets blamed on my club.”
