A man accused of fatally shooting two people in Portland, including a Vancouver man, was arraigned Thursday in Multnomah County, Ore., Circuit Court on two counts of aggravated murder with a firearm.
James Javontae Barquet, 26, was arraigned on an indictment — filed Wednesday — that also charges him with two counts of first-degree robbery with a firearm and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm with a firearm enhancement, Multnomah County District Attorney Rod Underhill announced Thursday. Barquet appeared before Circuit Court Judge Shelley D. Russell.
Barquet, a convicted felon, used a .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol to kill 51-year-old Brian Hansen and 70-year-old Carol Horner of Portland, according to an affidavit of probable cause.
Police found Horner’s body Nov. 19 under the west end of the Morrison Bridge in Portland. The Oregon State Medical Examiner’s Office found Horner died of a single gunshot wound to the head. Officers found a .45 caliber shell casing at the scene, according to the district attorney’s office.
Later that night, police responded to a gas station in the 400 block of West Burnside Street, where a man, later identified as Barquet, entered the store. He asked for a pack of cigarettes, and as the clerk started to ring up the sale, Barquet allegedly pulled out a handgun and ordered the employee to hand over the cigarettes, according to the district attorney’s office.
Early the next morning, police were called to the middle of the Burnside Bridge in Portland, where they found Hansen’s body. Officials say he also died of a single gunshot wound to the head, and officers found another single .45 caliber shell casing with similar markings nearby, according to the district attorney’s office.
Surveillance video showed Hansen walking west across the bridge that night and being followed closely by someone in a hooded coat pulling a wheeled suitcase and carrying a small bag. The video captured what appears to be a muzzle flash, the district attorney’s office said, and then the person who followed Hansen running away.
Shortly after finding Hansen, police searched the area, and at about 3:30 a.m. located a man matching who they saw in the surveillance footage, identified as Barquet.
The district attorney’s office said an officer found a .45 caliber pistol in his waistband, and it was loaded with rounds stamped similarly to those found near the two bodies.
Barquet’s next court date is scheduled for Jan. 11.
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