PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – A man and his girlfriend are charged with attempted murder after police and prosecutors allege they intentionally ran over a man with a 1991 Jeep Wrangler after a physical fight in Gresham.
The victim, 19-year-old Larnell Bruce, remains in critical condition with life-threatening injuries. According to court documents, he suffered a traumatic brain injury.
Police have arrested Russell Courtier and Colleen Hunt.
The altercation occurred late Wednesday in the 18800 block of East Burnside.
According to court documents, detectives have obtained surveillance video that shows Courtier and Bruce getting into a physical fight. Bruce was making “evasive maneuvers on foot in an attempt to escape Mr. Courtier and his red Jeep.”
One witness told police Bruce attempted jumping over a fence to avoid being run over.
The moment Bruce was run down isn’t capture on camera, but the video shows Courtier accelerating toward Bruce, records show.
Moments after the crash, a Gresham police officer arrived on scene and saw the “red Jeep driving away at a high rate of speed.”
A friend of Bruce told police that they were at the convenience store to charge their cellphones when Bruce got into an argument with Courtier. The friend did not know who started the fight or what it was over.
According to the witness, there were 2 attempts to run Bruce down.
The first attempt narrowly missed Bruce, “but (Courtier) circled around and chased after Mr. Bruce,” court documents state.
Hunt told detectives that she was the passenger inside the red Jeep involved with the crash. She confirmed to detectives that she “encouraged Mr. Courtier to fight the male by yelling ‘get him baby, get him baby.’”
Records show that during the fight in the parking lot, Bruce pulled out a machete and that’s when Courtier stopped fighting and got into his Jeep.
After Courtier ran Bruce over, he and Hunt “discussed calling the police, however (she) said they were too scared,” according to records.
I his interview with police, Courtier admitted that he and Bruce got involved into an altercation and that Bruce pulled out a machete.
“…Courtier said he was angry the male (Bruce) produced a knife and thought about driving away from the scene, however (he) made a conscious decision to drive his vehicle towards and chase the black male (Bruce),” records state.
Courtier also admitted to intentionally running Bruce down.
Both Hunt and Courtier are charged with attempted murder, first-degree assault, unlawful use of a weapon and felony hit and run. They remain in custody and will appear in court later this month.