A Portland couple charged in the murder of Lane Community College student, Alex Oyombe Gradin, pleaded guilty on Wednesday. Gradin was fatally wounded in a shooting last May behind Taylor’s Bar and Grill in Eugene.
On May 4, Regis Kindred, the shooter, and Kailee Von Foster, the driver, were trailing a vehicle they believed belonged to a rival gang member.
“Von Foster lost the vehicle but later found it in a parking lot behind Taylor’s Bar and Grill. After a quick trip to their nearby apartment, so Kindred could change into less conspicuous clothing, Von Foster drove them back to the parking lot behind Taylor’s, then parked their vehicle next to the target vehicle,” Lane County Prosecutor Jay Hall wrote in an email to KLCC.
He added that while Kindred and Von Foster waited for their target to emerge, Gradin was walking through the parking lot with his friends.
Kindred then fired a gun twice in the parking lot and Gradin was fatally wounded with one of the bullets. Hall stressed that Gradin was in no way affiliated with a gang, or the vehicle. It was a case of mistaken identity.
Hall praised the efforts of lead detectives Jed McGuire and Cliff Sites.
“Their excellent work and tireless dedication made it possible for the victim’s family to reach some closure and get justice for their son Alex,” Hall said. He adds the Eugene Police Department logged thousands of hours working on the case, and stated there was more than two terabytes of digital evidence.
On February 12, Kindred pleaded guilty to Murder in the Second Degree. Von Foster, Kindred’s wife, pleaded guilty to Manslaughter in the Second Degree. Both are expected to be sentenced next Thursday in front of Lane County Circuit Judge Debra Vogt.
Copyright 2020 KLCC
