PORTLAND, OR - On Wednesday, October 11th, there was a deadly shooting in downtown Portland.
According to authorities, 46-year-old Geoffrey E. Hammond killed one man and wounded another in a road rage incident. In 2020, Hammond founded a financial company called Aequantium with its main location being Portland.
Within three years, Hammond filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy with court records showing that he owed roughly $34,000 in credit card debt and was out of a job after his company closed.
Court documents state that he owns an $890,000 home in Portland's West Hills, a 2020 Mercedes SUV and four firearms.
Since the initial investigation, new details surrounding the deadly incident have emerged. According to a probable cause affidavit, the incident started as Hammond was driving downtown in his black Mercedes SUV. He reportedly stopped in front of the Moxy Hotel, partially blocking traffic and let his engine idle.
The affidavit says that the first victim, 47-year-old Ryan Martin, drove up behind Hammond in a gray Toyota Tundra and that the two men "exchanged middle fingers" as Martin drove around Hammond to head eastbound on Alder through the intersection with Southwest 10th.
Martin stopped on the other side of the intersection, got out of his vehicle without closing the door and then walked back across 10th toward Hammond. Prosecutors said that as soon as Hammond saw Martin walking towards him, Hammond began loading a gun.
He proceeded to tell investigators that he could see Martin was unarmed and that Martin tapped on the driver's side window of Hammond's SUV.
The affidavit says, "It is unclear what, if anything Ryan Martin said while tapping on the window, but witnesses describe shouting." Investigators said that in that moment, Hammond rolled down his window and shot Martin in the chest.
Allegedly, as Martin was laying on the ground, he pleaded with Hammond, saying, "I'm sorry, I had a bad day." Hammond then tried to shoot him again, but his gun jammed.
Video collected by investigators show that the scene went on for nearly a full minute, with Martin dying as he lay in the street and Hammond trying to get his gun to work so he could shoot the man again.
Witness said that they saw Hammond at one point flash some kind of badge as "if he were a police man" and then saying something to the effect of, "You are lucky I didn't shoot you in the head."
The affidavit said that a man named Sam Gomez came out of the Moxy Hotel, where he had been attending a conference of the National Organization of Minority Architects as a presenter and after seeing Martin on the ground and Hammond in the car with a gun in his hand, he held up his cell phone to record a video; he was about 15 feet away.
Gomez's phone reportedly captured the exact moment when Hammond got his gun functioning again. The video captured Hammond firing off a round, hitting Gomez in the leg. Hammond then started driving away from the area slowly, shooting at Gomez again, this time the bullet going wide.
Hammond called 911 as he drove himself toward the county courthouse. The affidavit states that he freely admitted to dispatch that he had shot the two men. The affidavit said, "He believed he was justified in doing so because Ryan Martin menaced him and because Sam Gomez might have had a weapon."
In a long interview with investigators, Hammond again admitted to shooting both men, consented to a search of his vehicle and said that he knew Martin was unarmed.
He also said that he had shot Gomez because he thought he "may have been planning an ambush which he recognized as a military tactic."
The affidavit said that throughout the interview, Hammond showed little remorse and shared that he believed groups of people were "stalking him."
The affidavit added, "Law enforcement interviewed numerous witnesses and obtained a significant amount of video footage of the shooting. Not a single witness described seeing or hearing anything that would have remotely justified the use of deadly force."
Hammond faces a slew of charges, including murder in the second degree with a firearm, attempted murder in the second degree with a firearm, assault in the first degree with a firearm and two counts of unlawful use of a weapon.
According to authorities, 46-year-old Geoffrey E. Hammond killed one man and wounded another in a road rage incident. In 2020, Hammond founded a financial company called Aequantium with its main location being Portland.
Within three years, Hammond filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy with court records showing that he owed roughly $34,000 in credit card debt and was out of a job after his company closed.
Court documents state that he owns an $890,000 home in Portland's West Hills, a 2020 Mercedes SUV and four firearms.
Since the initial investigation, new details surrounding the deadly incident have emerged. According to a probable cause affidavit, the incident started as Hammond was driving downtown in his black Mercedes SUV. He reportedly stopped in front of the Moxy Hotel, partially blocking traffic and let his engine idle.
The affidavit says that the first victim, 47-year-old Ryan Martin, drove up behind Hammond in a gray Toyota Tundra and that the two men "exchanged middle fingers" as Martin drove around Hammond to head eastbound on Alder through the intersection with Southwest 10th.
Martin stopped on the other side of the intersection, got out of his vehicle without closing the door and then walked back across 10th toward Hammond. Prosecutors said that as soon as Hammond saw Martin walking towards him, Hammond began loading a gun.
He proceeded to tell investigators that he could see Martin was unarmed and that Martin tapped on the driver's side window of Hammond's SUV.
The affidavit says, "It is unclear what, if anything Ryan Martin said while tapping on the window, but witnesses describe shouting." Investigators said that in that moment, Hammond rolled down his window and shot Martin in the chest.
Allegedly, as Martin was laying on the ground, he pleaded with Hammond, saying, "I'm sorry, I had a bad day." Hammond then tried to shoot him again, but his gun jammed.
Video collected by investigators show that the scene went on for nearly a full minute, with Martin dying as he lay in the street and Hammond trying to get his gun to work so he could shoot the man again.
Witness said that they saw Hammond at one point flash some kind of badge as "if he were a police man" and then saying something to the effect of, "You are lucky I didn't shoot you in the head."
The affidavit said that a man named Sam Gomez came out of the Moxy Hotel, where he had been attending a conference of the National Organization of Minority Architects as a presenter and after seeing Martin on the ground and Hammond in the car with a gun in his hand, he held up his cell phone to record a video; he was about 15 feet away.
Gomez's phone reportedly captured the exact moment when Hammond got his gun functioning again. The video captured Hammond firing off a round, hitting Gomez in the leg. Hammond then started driving away from the area slowly, shooting at Gomez again, this time the bullet going wide.
Hammond called 911 as he drove himself toward the county courthouse. The affidavit states that he freely admitted to dispatch that he had shot the two men. The affidavit said, "He believed he was justified in doing so because Ryan Martin menaced him and because Sam Gomez might have had a weapon."
In a long interview with investigators, Hammond again admitted to shooting both men, consented to a search of his vehicle and said that he knew Martin was unarmed.
He also said that he had shot Gomez because he thought he "may have been planning an ambush which he recognized as a military tactic."
The affidavit said that throughout the interview, Hammond showed little remorse and shared that he believed groups of people were "stalking him."
The affidavit added, "Law enforcement interviewed numerous witnesses and obtained a significant amount of video footage of the shooting. Not a single witness described seeing or hearing anything that would have remotely justified the use of deadly force."
Hammond faces a slew of charges, including murder in the second degree with a firearm, attempted murder in the second degree with a firearm, assault in the first degree with a firearm and two counts of unlawful use of a weapon.
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