Man found guilty of killing black teen from Vancouver
Oregon man ran over 19-year-old following altercation
By Jack Heffernan, Columbian
county government and small cities reporter
Published: March 19, 2019, 4:41pm
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Colleen Hunt and Russell Courtier (Multnomah County Sheriff's Office)
An Oregon man with white nationalist ties was convicted Tuesday of murdering a black Vancouver teenager.
A Multnomah County Circuit Court jury convicted Russell Courtier, 40, of the murder of Larnell Bruce Jr., 19. Jurors heard evidence that Courtier intentionally ran over Bruce with his vehicle following an altercation in a convenience store parking lot in Gresham, Ore.
Courtier also was found guilty of second-degree intimidation and felony hit-and-run. The intimidation conviction constitutes a hate crime in Oregon; the jury found that Courtier’s white supremacist beliefs influenced his decision to kill Bruce, according to a news release from the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office.
Members of Bruce’s family breathed deeply as tears filled their eyes while Multnomah County Circuit Judge Jerry Hodson read the verdict Tuesday.
“I’m so happy,” an emotional Christina Miles, Bruce’s mother, told The Oregonian/OregonLive.
Police responded Aug. 10, 2016, to the intersection of Southeast 188th Avenue and Southeast Burnside Street to investigate a hit-and-run involving a pedestrian. Bruce had suffered critical injuries and later died at a hospital.
Senior Deputy District Attorney David Hannon presented evidence during trial that Courtier, a member of the racist, white prison gang European Kindred, and Bruce were involved in a physical altercation outside a 7-Eleven store. Bruce was attempting to leave the area when Courtier climbed into a Jeep belonging to his girlfriend, Colleen Hunt, 37.
Video presented at trial showed Courtier drive the Jeep toward Bruce as the teen attempted to elude the car. Witnesses testified that Courtier was intentionally trying to run him down. Witnesses had also heard Hunt egging on Courtier from the passenger seat, yelling “Get him, baby! and “Run him over!” according to the Oregonian/OregonLive.
During the incident, Courtier was wearing a hat with white supremacist symbols. He also has the European Kindred’s initials and shield logo tattooed on his leg.
Another video presented during trial revealed that Courtier used a derogatory term for a black person during a police interview.
Opening statements were presented March 7, and the jury began deliberating Monday, according to the news release.
On Thursday, Hunt pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree manslaughter and admitted that she aided and abetted Courtier, according to the news release.
Hunt agreed to be sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Sentencing dates have not yet been set for Courtier or Hunt.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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