The defendant has been charged on three counts in relation to the deadly stabbing of Portland restaurant server Colin Smith.
Rahnique U. Jackson, 24, of Portland, is charged with one count each of second-degree murder, criminal possession of a weapon, and second-degree bias offense, which is classified as a hate crime under Oregon law.
Around 1:49 a.m. on July 2, a stabbing occurred in the Buckman neighborhood of Southeast Portland near Southeast 12th Avenue and Madison Street. When the police arrived, they discovered Smith, who had been stabbed to death.
According to Paulina Solis, a family friend, Smith left work at the Ox Restaurant and proceeded to a pub with some pals. She claimed that when they were at the pub, a man started to abuse the group, using homophobic obscenities.
The LGBTQ+ community is represented by one of the pals. According to Solis, Smith made the decision to defend his friend.
Solis stated, “I understand that he was probably just trying to de-escalate and get this person to move on. That is when he was killed, I believe.
The tweet below confirms the news:
Suspect accused of stabbing Portland restaurant server indicted on hate crime, murder charge https://t.co/EEZb4DPZdR
— KGW News (@KGWNews) July 14, 2023
Man Accused of Killing Smith, Who Was Loved by Many
Smith was considered to have taken care of the individuals he cared about by his friends, family, and coworkers.
One of the employees of Ox Restaurant claimed, “He was a protector.”
U.S. Marshal Service agents detained Jackson on Friday in Southeast Portland, according to the police. He was handed up to the homicide investigators with the Portland Police Bureau, interrogated, and then sent to the Multnomah County jail.
In 2018 and 2019, he had previously been taken into custody twice for strangling someone. The second instance was dropped.
On July 18, Jackson is set to be charged and make a plea.
We’ll update you if this news changes. Visit our website Focushillsboro for the latest news on this issue.
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