A Multnomah County Circuit Court judge rejected a request to significantly reduce the bail for a teen accused in two Portland shootings, including one into a crowd gathered on the Morrison Bridge during a post-election protest.
Judge Cheryl Albrecht cited the seriousness of the charges against Shamar Hunter, 18, during a release hearing Monday. Hunter faces charges of attempted murder, attempted first-degree assault, second- and third-degree assault and unlawful use of a weapon in connection with the pair of shootings in November.
Hunter’s attorney Jon Martz asked the judge to reduce Hunter’s bail from nearly $1,095,000 to $33,000, because Hunter’s family could only afford to raise 10 percent of that amount.
But Albrecht said the gravity of the charges and the number of victims prevented her from lowering his bail that far. She reduced it to $1 million, meaning Hunter would have to raise $100,000 to be released, instead of $3,300 as his attorney requested.
Hunter sat alongside Martz for the majority of the hearing looking down at the table in front of him and occasionally turning his swivel chair from side to side. A dozen relatives and other supporters sat in the gallery behind him.
When Albrecht asked Hunter if he had anything to say, the teen looked up, turned to his attorney, then to the judge and shook his head no.
Multnomah County Deputy District Attorney Nathan Vasquez described Hunter as “an extreme danger to the community.” He said Hunter’s alleged actions could have led to the deaths of several people.
According to Vasquez and court documents, Hunter fired a gun at least nine times at a car near Northeast 115th Avenue and Sandy Boulevard just before 1 a.m. on Nov. 1. The car, which had at least four women inside, was struck five times. One bullet nearly hit the driver in the head, authorities said.
A surveillance video captured the shooting. The video also shows a second unidentified male firing once at the car, court documents said.
Vasquez said the attack followed a Halloween-night party attended by gang members.
The second shooting occurred less than two weeks later, on Nov. 12, when someone opened fire on the Morrison Bridge during a protest of Donald Trump’s presidential election around 1:20 a.m. Hunter is suspected of driving a car carrying the alleged shooter, a 14-year-old boy. One bullet struck a 21-year-old man in the leg, court documents said. Another bullet grazed a person in the head, according to Vasquez.
Police found the car three hours later with a Tec-9 semiautomatic pistol partially under the driver’s seat, court documents said.
Court documents detail five prior police contacts involving Hunter related to guns and assaults between May 2015 and August 2016. He had been fired from his job at Enterprise Rent-A-Car sometime before his November arrest, the court papers said.
Martz said his client has family support to keep him out of further trouble and to make sure he makes it to his court appearances. He noted that Hunter has no prior criminal convictions, adding he understands the seriousness of the charges.
