PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The fourth and final man involved in a 1995 Portland homicide case was sentenced Friday to prison time, authorities said.
Selwyn Stafford pleaded guilty to 2nd-degree manslaughter with a firearm and 1st-degree robbery, according to the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office.
The 49-year-old was sentenced to 110 months in prison.
Three other men (including Stafford’s brother, Adrian Stafford, Danny Conner and Vinson White) have previously pleaded guilty to killing Darrin Ezell in 1995.
Ezell died of gunshot wounds on Dec. 20, 1995, at a home he shared with his girlfriend on Southeast Ramona Street.
The case went cold for years until April of 2014 when Portland Police Bureau Cold Case Homicide detectives said they arrested Conner in connection with the murder of Ezell and booked him into the Multnomah County Detention Center. White and Stafford were arrested later.
According to investigators, Ezell’s girlfriend had just left for work on December 20, 1995, in Southeast Portland, leaving her two children in her home when a car driven by Conner cut her off. Armed with a gun, Conner then got into her car and held her captive. White and the Stafford brothers, who were wearing masks, entered the couple’s apartment using a key taken from Ezell’s girlfriend. Authorities said the 3 men started looking for drugs and money and, during the search, Adrian Stafford shot Ezell.
In court on Friday, Ezell’s father called the death of his son “senseless.”
“Taking my son’s life has affected a lot of people,” said George Banks. “This won’t bring my son back but I hope it will give [Selwyn Stafford] time to think about what he did.”