PORTLAND, OREGON: Geoffrey E Hammond, a bankrupt Portland businessman, is facing criminal charges for fatally shooting a man and injuring another in a road rage encounter in downtown Portland.
Portland police noted that the 46-year-old Hammond was arrested after the shooting on Wednesday, October 11, 2023, and was later charged with second-degree murder, second-degree attempted murder two counts of unlawful use of a weapon, and fourth-degree assault.
Court documents indicated that Hammond is a wealthy businessman, who founded a financial company in Portland called Aequantium in 2020, which managed pooled funds that invested in commodities futures and related securities.
He also owns Aequantium Research, according to the Oregon Secretary of State’s website.
However, Hammond declared bankruptcy in May 2023 after his financing company folded, leaving him with over $34,000 in credit card debt and no job, as per Daily Mail.
According to the federal bankruptcy filing, Hammond, who is single with no children, previously used the name Jeffrey Edward Mandalis.
He also had a long criminal history in Illinois, including charges of assault, vandalism, trespassing, and domestic battery.
Why did Geoffrey E Hammond kill Ryan Martin?
The shooting incident unfolded on Wednesday when Hammond was driving downtown in his black Mercedes Benz SUV.
At one point, the businessman abruptly stopped in front of the Moxy Hotel on Southwest Alder when the first victim, Ryan Martin, drove up behind him in a grey Toyota Tundra.
A probable cause affidavit noted that the pair then got into a verbal dispute and "exchanged middle fingers" before Martin drove around Hammond to head eastbound on Alder through the intersection with Southwest 10th.
Martin pulled to a stop across the street, exited his car without locking the door, and crossed 10th Street to head back toward Hammond.
As Martin tapped on the window of Hammond’s Mercedes, he rolled down his glass and immediately shot him in the chest.
Video collected by investigators showed that this scene went on for a full minute as Martin writhed in agony in the street and pleaded with Hammond who attempted to shoot him again, but his gun malfunctioned.
Witnesses told police that Hammond at one point flashed some kind of badge "as if he were a policeman" and said something to the effect of, "You are lucky I didn't shoot you in the head."
Why did Geoffrey E Hammond shoot Sam Gomez?
Later, Hammond also fired a shot at Phoenix resident Sam Gomez, who came out of the Moxy Hotel, where he'd been attending a conference of the National Organization of Minority Architects as a presenter.
As Gomez stepped out of the hotel, he saw Martin on the ground and Hammond in his car with the gun in his hand.
He immediately took out his phone and recorded and captured the moment when Hammond got his gun functioning again.
At first, Gomez thought Hammond may have been an undercover police officer taking control of the chaotic scene. But moments later, he found himself staring down the barrel of a gun just ten yards away, before being shot.
"He got the gun loaded and he just straight looked at me and then, as you can see in the picture, just popped me," Gomez told The Oregonian.
Gomez was struck in the leg by the bullet, which continued through and broke one femur. "Everything just changed," Gomez said, adding "I'm just grateful that I'm alive because it could have been worse."
Gomez was then rushed to OHSU Hospital after two passers-by and a doctor who happened to be in the area ran to his aid. But tragically, Martin was pronounced dead at the scene.
As Hammond headed toward the county courthouse, he dialed 911 and told the dispatcher that he had shot the two guys.
"He believed he was justified in doing so because Ryan Martin menaced him and because Sam Gomez might have had a weapon," the affidavit states.
In a protracted interrogation, Hammond told detectives that he shot the man from the hotel because he thought the man "may have been planning an ambush which he recognized as a military tactic."
