Man Accused Of 12 Attempted Murders, 5 Shootings; Facing 40 charges
Portland, Oregon – A man facing 12 attempted murder charges is expected to go before a judge in Portland today. 23-year-old John Hardaway Jr. is accused of five separate shootings this year and last year. He’s facing 40 charges all together. When police arrested him back in February they found a Rugar 9mm handgun inside his car. Detectives were able to match the evidence from the shootings to the gun.
Read more from Multnomah Co. District Attorney’s Office
Multnomah County District Attorney Rod Underhill announced the filing of a 40-count indictment that accuses 23-year-old John Coleman Hardaway Jr. of being responsible for five separate shootings.
The indictment charges Hardaway Jr. with 12 counts of attempted murder with a firearm, 10 counts of unlawful use of a weapon, six counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm, 11 counts of recklessly endangering another person and one count of resisting arrest.
In total, the indictment accuses Hardaway Jr. of intentionally attempting to cause the death of 12 separate individuals.
Hardaway Jr. is accused of the December 9, 2018 shooting that occurred in the 4200 block of Northeast Wygant Street in Portland, Oregon; the December 15, 2018 shooting that occurred near the intersection of North Newman Avenue and North Trenton Street in Portland; and the three shootings that occurred in the 4300 block of North Willis Boulevard in Portland on January 13, January 15 and January 23, 2019.
According to a probable cause affidavit, during the investigation law enforcement submitted ballistic evidence to be forensically analyzed by the Integrated Ballistics Identification System (IBIS).
Hardaway Jr. was arrested on January 31, 2019 in the 400 block of West Burnside in Portland. At that time, law enforcement recovered a Ruger P89 9 mm handgun inside the vehicle Hardaway Jr. was driving, according to court documents. When police attempted to take Hardaway into custody, it is alleged he immediately resisted arrest.
In February 2019, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) notified the Portland Police Bureau’s Gun Violence Reduction Team of a presumptive IBIS match linking ballistic evidence recovered during the investigation to the handgun recovered inside a vehicle that Hardaway Jr. was driving.
According to court documents, the Portland Police Bureau’s Gun Violence Reduction Team in March 2019 executed a court-authorized search warrant on a social media account believed to be associated with Hardaway Jr. Pursuant to the search, law enforcement located several images from separate instances of Hardaway in possession of a Ruger P89 9 mm handgun.
In August 2017, the Portland Area Crime Gun Initiative was formed in partnership the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Portland Police Bureau, Gresham Police Department, Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office, Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office, Oregon State Police, Oregon State Crime Lab, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the ATF.
The Portland Area Crime Gun Initiative works with its partners to prevent violent crime by identifying perpetrators, linking criminal activities, and identifying sources of crime guns for immediate disruption, investigation, and prosecution.
For more information on the Portland Area Crime Gun Initiative, please click here.
Hardaway Jr. is expected to be arraigned June 19, 2019 at the Multnomah County Justice Center.
An indictment is only an accusation of a crime. Hardaway Jr. is innocent unless and until proven guilty.