PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A Multnomah County judge says prosecutors can’t use statements a murder suspect made to police because the detective talked to the man after he asked for an attorney.
Prosecutors charged 39-year-old Russell Courtier of intentionally running down a black teen in 2016 after an altercation in a convenience store parking lot.
Courtier has pleaded not guilty to murder and intimidation — a hate crime — in the death of 19-year-old Larnell Malik Bruce Jr. at the Gresham 7-Eleven.
Courtier’s girlfriend, Colleen Hunt, was in the passenger seat of Courtier’s Jeep.
She has pleaded not guilty to intimidation.
The Oregonian/OregonLive reported Friday that Detective Aaron Turnage stopped an initial interview when Courtier asked for a lawyer.
But hours later, Turnage told Courtier Bruce would likely die and Courtier began to talk.